Department of Health and Social Care

Autism and Learning Disability

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people with (a) a learning disability and (b) autism have been discharged into community settings from hospital in each year since 2015.

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people with (a) a learning disability and (b) autism have been admitted to hospital in each year since 2015.

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many beds in in-patient settings will be closed by March 2019 as a result of the Building the Right Support strategy.

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much money has been transferred from health budgets to each local authority to fund the development of community support for people with (a) a learning disability, (b) autism and (c) behaviour that challenges under the Transforming Care programme in each year since 2015.

Caroline Dinenage: Ray James, National Learning Disability Director at NHS England outlined that by March 2019 National Health Service commissioners in England plan to decommission just over 900 beds in mental health hospitals previously used by patients with a learning disability, autism or both. The Assuring Transformation (AT) dataset provides data on the numbers of people with learning disability and/or autism admitted and discharged from mental health hospitals. Data is not collected centrally on the number of people with learning disability and/orautism admitted and discharged from all hospitals. The following tables show admissions from the community and discharges to the community for the last three financial years. Figures reported are for the number of admissions and discharges and not the number of people as this is the format in which the data are collected. Presenting the data in this way also enables discharges and admissions over the three years to be directly compared. Over this three year period some people may have been admitted and discharged more than once. All data are taken from the AT data set as at 31 March 2018. NHS England does not hold information centrally regarding how much money has been transferred from health budgets to each local authority to fund the development of community support. All data are taken from the AT data set as at 31 March 2018. NHS England does not hold information centrally regarding how much money has been transferred from health budgets to each local authority to fund the development of community support. Discharges to the community as at 31 March 2018* Learning Disability OnlyAutistic Spectrum Condition OnlyBoth (Learning Disability and Autistic Spectrum ConditionTotal2015/16855 (56%)265 (18%)390 (26%)1,510 (100%)2016/17865 (54%)385 (24%)360 (22%)1,610 (100%)2017/18700 (44%)550 (35%)335 (21%)1,580 (100%)Source: AT data setAdmissions from the community as at 31 March 2018* Learning Disability OnlyAutistic Spectrum Condition OnlyBoth (Learning Disability and Autistic Spectrum ConditionTotal2015/16690 (54%)265 (21%)315 (25%)1,275 (100%)2016/17700 (50%)380 (27%)310 (22%)1,395 (100%)2017/18485 (39%)470 (38%)295 (24%)1,250 (100%)Source: AT data set Notes: The AT data set does not directly identify whether an admission is from the community or is a transfer from another hospital setting. Similarly, the data does not directly identify whether the end of an episode of care is a discharge to the community or a transfer to another hospital setting. These figures represent the best estimate of admissions from the community and discharges to the community, based on previous records for the patient and whether a previous admission date is recorded. For this reason, these figures cannot be compared directly to admission and discharge figures published by NHS Digital in their monthly publication which include transfers from other hospital settings. Delays in the recording of admissions on AT may affect the figures– the admissions count for 2017/18 is likely to be understated due to late reporting of admissions that took place in the last two or three months of the financial year. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest five to minimise disclosure risks associated with small numbers. It should be noted that rows will therefore not always add up to the total. Percentages have been calculated based on the unrounded numbers.

Hospitals: Discharges

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people who have had a Care and Treatment Review which recommended discharge from an in-patient setting have now been discharged in line with that recommendation in each year since 2015.

Caroline Dinenage: The following table shows the number of patients recorded in Assuring Transformation (AT) as discharged to the community from an inpatient setting following a Care and Treatment Review (CTR) which recommended discharge, for the last two financial years, 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2018. Information about CTRs has only been collected in the AT dataset since January 2016. Figures reported are for the number of people discharged at any point during the year; some patients may have been admitted and discharged more than once within the year. A total of 15 patients appear in both 2016/17 and 2017/18 figures having been discharged to the community during 2016/17, readmitted, and subsequently discharged again during 2017/18 following a further CTR with a recommendation for discharge. All data are taken from the AT data set as at 31 March 2018. Patients discharged from an inpatient setting following a CTR which recommended discharge, as at 31 March 2018  Patients discharged from an inpatient setting following a CTR review outcome of ‘ready for discharge’.Discharged during 2016/17475Discharged during 2017/18535Total people discharged995Source: AT data set. Note: Numbers have been rounded to the nearest five to minimise disclosure risks associated with small numbers. The number of patients discharged in 2017/18 is likely to be understated due to late reporting of discharges that took place in the last months of the financial year.

Better Care Fund

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which initiatives by English region receive funding from the Better Care fund; and how much funding each such initiative has received.

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which initiatives by English region which are funded from the Better Care fund are dedicated to address mental health needs.

Caroline Dinenage: The Better Care Fund (BCF) is a universal policy for local authorities and clinical commissioning groups to pool budgets for the purposes of integrated care. Local areas develop BCF plans according to their local needs (including mental health), as outlined in the Integration and Better Care Fund Planning Requirements for 2017-19*. Plans are agreed locally by Health and Wellbeing Boards. Data is not collected centrally on how much BCF funding is used to address mental health needs. A Quality and Outcomes of Person-centred Care Policy Research Unit system-level evaluation of the BCF is underway, with the final report planned for this summer and this will contain detail on different categories of BCF spend. Note: The document can be found at the following link: *https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/integration-and-better-care-fund-planning-requirements-for-2017-19/

Public Health

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information he holds on the (a) number of staff employed in and (b) size of budget for public health teams in each local authority in England in each of the last three years.

Steve Brine: Information on the number of staff employed in and size of budgets for public health teams in each local authority in England is not held centrally. Public health allocations for 2018/19 for each local authority in England are available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-health-grants-to-local-authorities-2018-to-2019 It is for each individual authority to decide what proportion of this is spent on staff.

Prescriptions

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that rural GP practices have access to high speed broadband to support their participation in the electronic prescription service.

Steve Brine: The Department of Health and Social Care does not have responsibility for the rollout of access to high speed broadband. The Department for Digital Culture, Media and Sport leads on the introduction of a broadband Universal Service Obligation. The Department of Health and Social Care is, through NHS Digital, ensuring general practitioner (GP) practices are able access the best available broadband services through the Health and Social Care Network programme. The ability of GP practices to use the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) is important to fully realise the benefits of the system to provide a more efficient and cost effective service. EPS is currently deployed to over 92% of GP practices.

Vaccination: Children

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which local authority areas met the WHO recommended 95 per cent uptake target for childhood immunisation programmes in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13, (d) 2013-14, (e)2014-15, (f) 2015-16 and (g) 2016-17.

Steve Brine: Data on which local authorities met the World Health Organization target of 95% uptake for childhood immunisations are not collected in the format requested for years 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13. The percentage of children immunised by their first, second and fifth birthday by local authority in 2013-14 is available in the NHS Immunisation Statistics, England 2013-14 here: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-immunisation-statistics/nhs-immunisation-statistics-england-2013-14 The percentage of children immunised by their first, second and fifth birthday by local authority in 2014-15, is available in the NHS Immunisation Statistics, England 2014-15 here: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-immunisation-statistics/nhs-immunisation-statistics-england-2014-15 The percentage of children immunised by their first, second and fifth birthday by local authority in 2015-16, is available in the: NHS Immunisation Statistics, England - 2015-16 here: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-immunisation-statistics/nhs-immunisation-statistics-england-2015-16The percentage of children immunised by their first, second and fifth birthday by local authority in 2016-17, is available in the Childhood Vaccination Coverage Statistics 2016-17: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/childhood-vaccination-coverage-statistics/childhood-vaccination-coverage-statistics-england-2016-17 Notes: The data is based upon 149 local authorities, as Rutland is included in Leicestershire, City of London in Hackney and the Isles of Scilly in Cornwall.

Mental Health Services: Private Sector

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department holds information on how much money the NHS has paid private healthcare companies for the provision of (a) eating disorder and (b) mental health services since 2010.

Jackie Doyle-Price: This data is not collected in the format requested. NHS England directly commissions specialised services for mental health and eating disorders, including those for NHS services in the independent sector. Other services for eating disorders and mental health services are commissioned by clinical commissioning groups.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Oral Statement of 2 May 2018 on Breast Cancer Screening, Official Report, column 315, what estimate his Department has made of the number of women in Wolverhampton who were not sent an invitation to a final routine breast cancer screening as a result of the computer algorithm failure.

Steve Brine: Analysis of the data on the number of women affected was completed by the end of May. My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has provided this information in a Written Ministerial Statement, HCWS731, published today.

HIV Infection: Screening

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding from the public purse has been allocated to support the provision of routine HIV testing at NHS Trusts.

Steve Brine: Data on funding for HIV testing is not collected centrally. HIV testing services are commissioned by local authorities through the ring fenced public health grant. Most testing takes place in sexual health services and over a million people were tested for HIV in these services in 2016. This testing identified 2,358 new HIV diagnoses, a positivity rate of 0.2%. In addition, all health services are expected to test for HIV opportunistically when an individual presents with symptoms which may be indicative of HIV.

Surgical Mesh Implants

Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the three-year limit in medical negligence cases for mesh-injured patients.

Jackie Doyle-Price: There is no plan to extend the three-year limit in medical negligence cases specifically for mesh-injured patients. Under section 11 of the Limitation Act 1980 a patient is able to bring a claim for damages for clinical negligence against a trust or any other healthcare provider within three years from the date of injury. However, this can be longer if the patient is a child, when the three year period only begins on his/her eighteenth birthday the patient has a mental disorder within the meaning of the Mental Health Act 1983 so as to be incapable of managing his/ her own affairs, when the three year period is suspended or there was an interval before the patient realised or could reasonably have found out that he/she had suffered a significant injury possibly related to his/her treatment. The ‘date of knowledge’ of an injury could be a number of years after the treatment. In recognition that there may be some cases where the prescribed period is inadequate, the Limitation Act 1980 also gives the court discretion to disapply the limitation period in respect of claims for personal injuries when it considers it just and equitable to do so.

General Practitioners: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many full-time equivalent GPs there have been in Warrington in each year since 2010.

Steve Brine: The information requested is presented in the following table. Full time equivalent (FTE) data is not comparable over the period. Headcount numbers have therefore been provided. CensusPrimary care trust (PCT)/clinical commissioning group (CCG) CodePCT/CCG NameAll practitioners (excluding Retainers and Registrars, Locums) headcount20105J21Warrington PCT12920115J21Warrington PCT13520125J21Warrington PCT134201302ENHS Warrington CCG124201402ENHS Warrington CCG126201502ENHS Warrington CCG138201602ENHS Warrington CCG129201702ENHS Warrington CCG127 Notes: National Health Service workforce statistics are only available by NHS organisation areas. Prior to 2013 the region currently covered by NHS Warrington CCG was covered by Warrington PCT. Figures for these PCT regions are included for the relevant years.Locums, registrars and retainers data is not comparable across the time series and is therefore not included in the headcount data presented.All data as of 30 September.Figures contain estimates for practices that did not provide fully valid general practitioner data.There is no comparable FTE data between 2010 and 2018.

NHS: Contracts

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the value was of NHS contracts won by non-NHS firms in (a) England in 2016-2017.

Stephen Barclay: This information is not held centrally.

Antibiotics: Drug Resistance

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase public awareness of antimicrobial resistance.

Steve Brine: Public Health England (PHE) has developed a number of initiatives which support the Government’s ambition to halve inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics by 2020. PHE launched a major new national campaign, ‘Keep Antibiotics Working’, in October 2017 following a successful pilot in the North West, to alert the general public to the issue of antibiotic resistance, with the aim of reducing patient pressure on general practitioners to prescribe. The mass-media campaign targets all adults with a focus on groups most likely to use antibiotics: older adults and women aged 20-45 years old, who typically have primary responsibility for family health as younger children are heavy users of antibiotics. The campaign is advertised through a numbers of mediums including television, radio and social media. There is also extensive partner support from health care professionals and local authorities in local communities. The United Kingdom-wide Antibiotic Guardian campaign, now in its fourth year, aims to stimulate behaviour change and increase engagement to tackle antimicrobial resistance by healthcare professionals and engaged members of the public.

NHS: Dental Services

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the average number of NHS Dentists per income quintile of the population in England in each of the last 10 years for which information is available.

Steve Brine: Information is not held in the format requested.

NHS: Dental Services

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the proportion of the population who see an NHS dentist within six months of joining a waiting list per income quintile of the population in England in each of the last 10 years for which information is available.

Steve Brine: This information is not held centrally.

NHS: Dentistry

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the average number of vacancies for an NHS dentist per income quintile of the population in England in each of the last 10 years for which information is available.

Steve Brine: This information is not held centrally.

NHS: Dental Services

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the proportion of the population who have not accessed an NHS dentists in the past 5 years per income quintile of the population in England, in each of the last 10 years for which information is available.

Steve Brine: Information is not held in the format requested.

NHS: Dental Services

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of NHS dentist who are not able to accept new patients per income quintile of the population in England in each of the last 10 years for which information is available.

Steve Brine: Dental practices’ capacity to take on new patients varies but all practices are periodically able to take on new patients as existing patients move on. Because practices may regularly open and close to new patients over the period of a year, it is not possible to estimate in the format requested the numbers unable to accept new patients.

Health Services: Sexual Offences

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that there is a zero tolerance approach to sexual assault and harassment by staff of patients in (a) hospitals, (b) mental health inpatient units and (c) under community care teams.

Caroline Dinenage: Sexual assault, abuse, violence and harassment by National Health Service staff on patients is taken very seriously by all NHS providers and commissioning and oversight organisations. Protecting patients from abuse and neglect, and care and treatment that is degrading is a right in the NHS Constitution. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has provided the following response: The CQC places an important focus on the safety of service users regardless of which sector it is regulating, including the prevention of sexual assault. In the CQC’s health assessment framework, under the safe key question it seeks to understand how providers ensure service users are protected from abuse and avoidable harm, whether physical, sexual, mental or psychological, financial, neglect, institutional or discriminatory abuse. Sector-specific prompts are included in the CQC’s inspections for each sector, including NHS and independent acute, community and mental health services. The CQC wrote to system partners in May 2018 inviting them to help further explore the issue of sexual safety on mental health inpatient units wards more generally following its report, ‘State of Care in Mental Health Services 2014-17’ including sexual assaults and harassment by staff of patients. It will publish a report, with recommendations, later this year. NHS England has provided the following response: NHS England Safeguarding Team is party to the Government’s Round Table conversations on these abuse and violence issues which will bring further clarity about how to mitigate the likelihood of sexual harassment and abuse by staff of patients in environments where that is deemed to be a risk. NHS England is in dialogue with specialised commissioning colleagues of sexual assault centres; medical professional colleagues, specialising in women’s heath in psychiatry about clinical and service standards. The aim is to improve staff and corporate awareness in relation to domestic violence and sexual assault and harassment, including by staff on patients and the Government is currently consulting on:- Protecting and supporting victims;- Pursuing and deterring perpetrators; and- Improving performance in terms of reporting and response. NHS England continues to actively support all staff across hospitals, mental health inpatient units, in community care teams and home cares to listen to such allegations from their patients and report such allegations to their line managers. In summary NHS England continues to give absolute due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation of all types and especially violence, abuse and assault against patients in care.

Mental Health Services: Detention Centres

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding his Department has spent on commissioning mental health services to treat patients in detention centres in each year since 2014.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Since 2014, NHS England has been responsible for commissioning all health services in prescribed places of detention which include prisons, immigration removal centres, youth offender institutes, secure training centres and secure childrens homes. NHS England does not hold the information in the format requested.

Disability: Advocacy

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the capacity of community advocacy services for people living with disabilities, including hearing loss.

Caroline Dinenage: Community advocacy services are not a direct responsibility of the Department. There are statutory provisions to allow people access to advocacy support in specific circumstances. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 gives people who have an impairment, injury or disability, who have no one able to support or represent them, and who lack capacity, the right to independent support and representation. There is also a legal right to advocacy under the Mental Health Act 2007 and the Care Act 2014. The Children and Families Act 2014, Section 32 reinforced the requirement on local authorities to provide information, advice and support to families who have children and young people with a special educational need, through Information, Advice and Support Services. From 1 August 2016, all organisations that provide National Health Service care and / or publicly-funded adult social care are legally required to follow the Accessible Information Standard, which requires them to meet the information and communication support needs of patients, service users, carers and parents with a disability, impairment or sensory loss.

Sign Language: General Practitioners and Hospitals

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps are being taken to improve the availability of British Sign Language translation services at hospitals and GP practices in England.

Caroline Dinenage: The Accessible Information Standard is intended to make sure that people who have a disability, impairment or sensory loss get information that they can access and understand. The Accessible Information Standard was published by NHS England in July 2015. From 1 August 2016, all organisations that provide National Health Service care and or publicly-funded adult social care are required to follow the standard in full. Commissioning organisations, including clinical commissioning groups and local authorities, are required to support implementation and compliance with the standard by providers from which they commission services. They may do this through contracts and performance management arrangements, for example.

General Practitioners: Waiting Lists

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will collate data on GP waiting times in CCG areas in England.

Steve Brine: The average waiting time for a general practitioner (GP) appointment is not collected or held centrally. NHS England is working with NHS Digital to consider ways of improving the availability and quality of GP data, including waiting times. In the 2017 GP patient survey 70.8% of respondents (who could remember whether or not they were able to get an appointment, and when they wanted the appointment) stated they saw or spoke to someone at a time they wanted to or sooner. The latest National Health Service planning guidance, issued by NHS England in February 2018, requires clinical commissioning groups to provide extended access to general practice to their whole population by 1 October 2018, to ensure additional capacity is in place ahead of winter 2018.

Obesity: South Yorkshire

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how his Department is working with NHS services in South Yorkshire to ensure obesity services are properly funded and effectively managed.

Steve Brine: Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for commissioning health care services to meet the needs of their population. Health and Wellbeing Boards will bring together local partners including CCGs and local authorities to ensure the right services are in place. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) provides national clinical guidance and advice, based on best evidence of clinical and cost effectiveness, for use of interventions, technology and devices. NICE has produced a suite of guidance on tackling obesity including ‘Obesity: identification, assessment and management of overweight and obesity in children, young people and adults’, which includes access to all tiers of obesity services. This guidance is available at the following link: www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg189

Obesity: Children

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking with the Department for Education to ensure schools are  supported to help tackle childhood obesity.

Steve Brine: In August 2016 we published Childhood Obesity: A Plan for Action which contained a number of commitments to support schools in creating healthy environments for their pupils. Included were a number of announcements of funding for schools including doubling the PE and Sport Premium to £320 million per year, investing £26 million over three years to improve and increase the number of breakfast clubs in over 1,770 schools with a focus on the Department for Education’s Opportunity Areas, and continued support for the Bikeability programme. We are also working with the Department for Education to update the School Food Standards with the latest scientific advice on nutrition and introduce a new healthy ratings scheme for schools to recognise and encourage their contribution to helping their pupils eat better and move more. The Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Education work with partners such as Public Health England to produce tool and resources for schools through their Change4Life campaign and NHS Choices domain. We also funded the Youth Sport Trust to produce the Active School Planner, a free to use, interactive tool to help schools review and improve their current physical activity offer in-line with the Chief Medical Officer’s recommendations.

Dementia

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment of the adequacy of the provision of treatment for dementia.

Caroline Dinenage: In the case of most progressive dementias, including Alzheimer's disease, there is no cure and no treatment that slows or stops its progression. However there are drug treatments that may temporarily improve symptoms. NHS England has published an evidence-based treatment pathway for dementia to improve access to services, timely diagnosis and receipt of post diagnostic support. In addition the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published the clinical guideline, ‘Dementia: supporting people with dementia and their carers in health and social care.’ This guideline covers preventing, diagnosing, assessing and managing dementia in health and social care, and includes recommendations on Alzheimer’s disease. It aims to improve care for people with dementia by promoting accurate diagnosis and the most effective interventions, and improving the organisation of services. Commissioners are expected to commission services for their populations in line with the current clinical guidelines such as those produced by NICE.

Myeloma

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment of the adequacy of the provision of treatment for myeloma.

Steve Brine: The Department and NHS England are committed to transforming cancer services across the country, taking an all cancer approach to improvement. The National Health Service Cancer Programme has established a number of initiatives to support the delivery of this ambition including. This includes Wave 2 of the Accelerate, Coordination and Evaluation programme testing a new approach to diagnosing patients with vague symptoms, often characteristic of hard to diagnose cancers like haematological cancers. In addition, since July 2016 the Cancer Drugs Fund has either funded or is currently funding 39 treatments for blood cancers, including six for myeloma.

Diabetes

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment of the adequacy of the provision of treatment for type 1 diabetes.

Steve Brine: A set of audits carried out by NHS Digital with funding from NHS England assess the quality of care across a range of measures for those with type 1 diabetes, as well as those with type 2 diabetes. They are as follows: - The National Diabetes Audit, with information available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/clinical-audits-and-registries/our-clinical-audits-and-registries/national-diabetes-audit - The National Diabetes Inpatient Audit, with information available at the following link: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/clinical-audits-and-registries/our-clinical-audits-and-registries/national-diabetes-inpatient-audit - The National Paediatrics Diabetes Audit, with information available at the following link: https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/work-we-do/quality-improvement-patient-safety/national-paediatrics-diabetes-audit The NHS RightCare diabetes pathway supports local improvements by defining the core components of an optimal service for people with diabetes that delivers better value in terms of outcomes and cost. More information is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/rightcare/products/pathways/diabetes-pathway/ Getting It Right First Time is a programme designed to improve clinical quality and efficiency within the National Health Service by reducing unwarranted variations. It has announced that it has recruited new diabetes clinical leads as it grows to cover more than 30 clinical specialties. More information is available at the following link: http://gettingitrightfirsttime.co.uk/medical-specialties/diabetes/

Nurses: Apprentices

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance NHS Employers has issued on the recommended wage rate for nursing associate apprentices in (a) 2017-18 and (b) 2018-19.

Stephen Barclay: Pay rates for apprentices are set by individual trusts at local level. NHS Employers have issued interim guidance to National Health Service employers on pay for nursing associates suggesting employers pay an interim pay rate for new entrants of Band 3. Negotiations continue as part of the reform of the Agenda for Change contract to agree guidance on NHS apprentice pay at a national level, which will be decided by the NHS Staff Council.

Hospitals: Closures

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the (a) names, (b) postcodes and (c) year of closure of the hospitals that closed between 2010 and 2018.

Stephen Barclay: The information is not held centrally.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Closures

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the (a) names, (b) postcodes and (c) year of closure of the A&Es that closed between 2010 and 2018.

Stephen Barclay: This information is not held centrally.

Babies: Scotland

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of baby boxes in Scotland; and whether his Department has plans to extend such provision to England.

Jackie Doyle-Price: No assessment has been made of the effectiveness of baby boxes in Scotland, and we have no plans to formally extend such provision to England. Unicef UK and the Lullaby Trust have provided statements regarding what considerations should be made when delivering such schemes to ensure that they comply with safety standards and cause no harm to babies and their parents. The statements can be accessed at the following links: https://www.unicef.org.uk/babyfriendly/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/11/Statement-on-Baby-Box-Schemes-Unicef-UK-Baby-Friendly-Initiative.pdf https://www.lullabytrust.org.uk/are-baby-boxes-safe-to-sleep-baby/

Hospitals: Domestic Visits

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2018 to Question 145570, if he will publish a list of which private hospitals (a) Ministers and (b) Special Advisers of his Department have visited in each of the last 18 months; and what the subjects of those visits were for each of those hospitals so listed.

Stephen Barclay: A list of visits made by Ministers over the past 18 months to private hospitals and the subject matter of those visits is shown in the following table. A special adviser has visited the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston and Vanderbilt University Medical Centre, Nashville to discuss technology and innovation. No other Ministers or Special Advisers have undertaken such visits during the past 18 months. Title of MinisterPrivate HospitalSubject of VisitThe Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Jackie Doyle-Price)Newton House, Independent Hospital, Blackpool.To visit locked rehabilitation services, and meet staff and service usersThe former Minister of State (Mr Philip Dunne MP)Texas Medical Centre, Texas, USATour and discussion on service delivery and innovationTexas Children’s hospital, Texas, USAMD Anderson Cancer Centre, Texas, USAVisit to Brigham and Women’s hospital, Boston, USASpaulding Rehabilitation hospital, Boston, USAChildren’s Hospital, Boston, USAVanderbilt University medical centre, Nashville, USA

Radiotherapy

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to spend a proportion of the £130 million allotted to modernise radiotherapy on new linac machines for newly commissioned satellite centres.

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what further funding will be available for modernising radiotherapy after the closure of the current fund in October 2018.

Steve Brine: The radiotherapy modernisation fund, launched in October 2016, committed £130 million of investment to develop and upgrade current linear accelerators aged 10 years or more. By the end of March 2018, the fund had enabled the replacement or upgrade of 56 machines. Future funding decisions, including on new satellite centres, will be made after the fund ends in October 2018.

Cancer: Medical Treatments

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for the NHS not meeting the operational standard on the 62 day time limit between urgent GP referral and first definitive treatment for cancer; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: There has been a continuing rise in demand for cancer services, with urgent general practitioner referrals for cancer rising by over 70,000 compared to last year. Achieving the 62-day standard was a key objective in the Government’s mandate to NHS England for 2017-18 and this has been rolled forward into 2018-19. NHS England is investing this year in initiatives to recover and maintain the 62-day standard nationally, such as pathway coordinators and timed, standardised pathways. The National Health Service is committed to achieving the 62-day cancer waiting times standard in 2018/19, and to maintaining performance against the other cancer waiting times standards. Latest data for March 2018 shows that the National Health Service is meeting six out of eight cancer waiting times standards.

Continuing Care

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect in real terms of the change to the NHS Continuing Healthcare budget by 2020-21.

Caroline Dinenage: It is estimated that spending on NHS Continuing Healthcare will increase by over 20% by 2020/21, or an average of approximately 3.9% per year. This is equivalent to approximately 1.7% per year in real terms. NHS Continuing Healthcare is funded by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) from their overall revenue allocations. It is for CCGs to make decisions on funding based on the needs of their local populations, however, when someone is assessed as eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare, CCGs are responsible for funding the full care package to meet their assessed needs.

Radiotherapy

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2017 to Question 114778, when the postcode-level dataset which will enable the calculation of travel times to radiotherapy centres will be published.

Steve Brine: The National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service intend to publish reports on travel times for cancer patients in June 2018.

Pregnancy: Mental Health Services

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 22 May 2018 to Question 143768, what the average waiting time was for women to be treated for mental illness during pregnancy or within the first year of giving birth for each year for which data is available.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Drugs: Barnsley

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that recovery services for drug addiction in Barnsley are receiving sufficient funding.

Steve Brine: Local authorities are responsible for improving the health of their local population and reducing health inequalities by assessing local need and commissioning services to meet identified needs, including drug dependence. In the current financial year, local authorities are receiving a £3.215 billion public health grant for their public health duties for all ages. Information about the 2018-19 grant, how it breaks down and indicative public health allocations for each local authority in 2019-20 is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-health-grants-to-local-authorities-2018-to-2019 Public Health England supports local authorities in their work of needs assessment and commissioning of alcohol and drug prevention and treatment services by providing advice, guidance and data.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding his Department has allocated to support research into treatment for myalgic encephalomyelitis in each of the last five years; and what plans he has to allocate further funding for such research.

Caroline Dinenage: The following table shows information provided by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) on Departmental programme research funding for myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), over each of the last five years. It is not possible to disaggregate funding for research into treatments specifically but further information on this research is available through the NIHR Journals Library at the following link: https://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/programmes/ Financial Year£2013-14561,9502014-15426,0552015-16475,6762016-17554,7852017-18464,902 In terms of future research, the NIHR recognises that CFS/ME is a debilitating condition and is speaking with the UK CFS/ME Research Collaborative and patient representatives about how best to support a joined up approach to high quality research into this complex disorder. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including CFS/ME; it is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.

Learning Disability: Death

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to Answer of 14 May, to Question 142400, on learning disability: death, by what means his Department was informally notified of the intended publication; what his Department’s definition of informally notified is; and what his Department’s definition of formally notified is.

Caroline Dinenage: Departmental officials became aware of the publication date of the recent annual report of the Learning Disabilities Mortality Review (LeDeR) Programme on Thursday 3 May via social media. Shortly afterwards, the Department received an email from an NHS England official about the publication of the report. The Department then took steps to seek confirmation from NHS England about the publication date and secure a copy of the report which was also provided on Thursday 3 May. The Department does not consider this to constitute the usual route of formal notification. The Department would expect notification of the publication date and an embargoed copy of the report to be provided in a manner that would have permitted sufficient notice to support internal planning and provide advice to ministers in an effective way. This expectation was reinforced by the statement made to Parliament in December 2016 by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care that annual reports of the LeDeR programme would be provided to the Department.

Scientific Advisory Committee On Nutrition

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what factors the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition takes into account when determining whether to revise its advice on any aspect of nutritional supplementation.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will list all the recommendations the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition has issued in respect of nutritional supplements by (a) nutritional supplement, (b) when the recommendation was last reviewed in each case and (c) what triggered the last review in the case of each supplement; and if he will make a statement.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition has to develop additional advice on the use of food supplements by nutrient.

Steve Brine: The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) undertakes a risk assessment to determine whether to revise its advice either because of a need identified through horizon scanning or at the request of government. The SACN undertakes all risk assessment in line with its framework for the evaluation of evidence. The SACN’s risk assessments take account of evidence on intake and need in relation to health outcomes considered to be of key public health concern. The SACN undertakes nutritional risk assessment on a case by case basis in relation to need – this is usually either because of a need identified through horizon scanning or at the request of government. The SACN has no plans to develop specific additional advice on supplement use. The SACN has made supplementation recommendations in relation to vitamin D and folic acid. Which are available at the following links: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sacn-vitamin-d-and-health-report https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/folic-acid-updated-sacn-recommendations

Scientific Advisory Committee On Nutrition

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the revised advice issued by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition in July 2016 on vitamin D, for what reasons Public Health England limited the application of the advice to autumn and winter only; what steps he has taken to monitor the effect of that change in the advice on the health of the population; what steps have been taken to make the public aware of that advice; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: Public Health England advice on vitamin D supplements recognises that in spring and summer, the majority of the population get enough vitamin D through sunlight on the skin and a healthy, balanced diet. The advice from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition was unable to take account of skin synthesis of vitamin D. During autumn and winter everyone will need to rely on dietary sources of vitamin D. Vitamin D intake and status is measured through the United Kingdom National Diet and Nutrition Survey rolling programme. Clear advice to the public continues to be communicated via the NHS Choices website at the following link: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamin-d/ The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has produced guidance on increasing vitamin D supplement use among population groups at risk of vitamin D deficiency, which is available at the following link: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ph56

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision: a Green Paper, jointly published by his Department and the Department for Education, when the Government plans to publish its response to the consultation on that Green Paper.

Jackie Doyle-Price: We plan to publish a Government response to the consultation on the Green Paper ahead of summer recess.

Foetal Alcohol Syndrome

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have been diagnosed with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in (a) the North East and (b) England in each of the last three years.

Steve Brine: Public Health England collect and report information on individuals with foetal alcohol syndrome however only those identified at birth are notified, so it is recognised that this is a significant underestimation of the overall prevalence. The figures available relate to births in 2012-2016 and cover five regions in England only: the South West, East Midlands and South Yorkshire, Wessex, Thames Valley and the North, (including North East and Cumbria), prevalence tables by region and year can be found at the following link: http://www.eurocat-network.eu/prevdata/resultsPdf.aspx?title=A5&allanom=false&allregf=true&allrega=true&anomalies=83&winx=1256&winy=677 Rates vary from 0.00 per 10,000 - 0.16 per 10,000 births compared to a European prevalence of 0.54 per 10,000 births.

Foetal Alcohol Syndrome

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to raise awareness of Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to provide mental health support to people affected by Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

Steve Brine: The United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers’ low risk drinking guidelines advise women who are pregnant or think they could become pregnant that the safest approach is not to drink alcohol at all, to reduce risks to the baby to a minimum. Public Health England's Start4Life programme also provides information via its website on the impact of drinking alcohol during pregnancy, including the risk of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). The Government recognises that FASD can have a significant impact on the early year’s development of children, their behaviours and their life chances. Early intervention services can help reduce some of the effects of FASD and prevent some of the secondary disabilities that result. Responsibility for commissioning these services lies with clinical commissioning groups. The Government is providing additional investment of £1 billion per year by 2020/21 for mental health services in the National Health Service to meet the ambitions set out in NHS England’s ‘Implementing the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health’. This includes the expansion of improving access to psychological therapies services which will focus on people with long term conditions, including conditions arising from fetal alcohol syndrome. The report is available at the following link: www.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/taskforce/imp/

Social Services

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to publish the (a) terms of reference and (b) timescale for the parallel workstream on working-age social care users.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department for Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is currently listening to stakeholders on their views of what the priorities for this work should be, and working to build the evidence base. We are at a relatively early stage of this piece of work which will complement the Green Paper and will set out our plans once we are clearer on the nature of the output.

Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what steps the Electoral Commission its taking to monitor the effectiveness of electoral registration officers in promoting individual electoral registration.

Bridget Phillipson: The Electoral Commission sets performance standards for Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), relating to their duty to maintain accurate and complete electoral registers.The Commission uses a risk-based approach to inform its monitoring of performance, and provides support and challenge to EROs as needed. It provides guidance and other resources to EROs to support them in promoting electoral registration; this includes examples of innovative tactics used by EROs to encourage applications to register to vote.

Prime Minister

Parliamentary Private Secretaries

Patrick Grady: To ask the Prime Minister, if she will publish an updated list of Government parliamentary private secretaries.

Mrs Theresa May: Lists were previously published in July 2017 and January 2018. We will publish an updated list, routinely in due course

Jagtar Singh Johal

Jo Swinson: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to the Answer of 9 May 2018 to Question 140667 on Jagtar Singh Johal, what information Indian Prime Minister Modi provided in response to her questions on Jagtar Singh Johal's (a) case and (b) treatment in custody; and if she will make a statement.

Mrs Theresa May: I have nothing further to add to the answers I gave the hon. Member on the 19 April 2018, UIN 135934, 27 April 2018, UIN 137505 and 9 May 2018, UIN 140667.

Department for Work and Pensions

Children: Maintenance

Melanie Onn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average proportion of a person's net income is paid out in child maintenance by people in (a) employment and (b) self-employment.

Kit Malthouse: We have made no estimate of the average proportion of net income paid out in Child Maintenance. Child Maintenance is calculated using a set percentage of a Paying Parent’s gross income. The percentages used are the same for those employed or self-employed. The calculation process and rates are set out in:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-we-work-out-child-maintenance

Universal Credit: Young People

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to restore the automatic eligibility of 18-21 year old people to claim universal credit for housing costs.

Kit Malthouse: We want to make this change as soon as is practicable. This change needs to be made in regulations and also built into the Universal Credit operating system

Personal Independence Payment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of personal independence payment assessments carried out by (a) her Department and (b) other assessors that were rated as (i) acceptable, (b) acceptable with amendments, (c) acceptable with feedback, and (d) unacceptable in each of the last five years.

Sarah Newton: PIP assessments are completed by third-party providers rather than the Department itself. We do not rate assessments but we do independently audit assessment reports to ensure that the advice provided to the Department’s Case Managers is of suitable quality, fully explained and justified. PIP Assessment Provider performance by audit grading can be accessed using the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/work-and-pensions-select-committee-pip-and-esa-assessments-inquiry-supporting-statistics

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Ged Killen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the average length of time taken for a complaint in relation to the equalisation of the state pension age to be (a) received and referred to be Independent Case Examiners Office (b) allocated to a case manager and (c) investigated by the case manager and a response issued to the complainant.

Kit Malthouse: The Independent Case Examiner’s Office can only accept a complaint for examination once the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) complaint process has been exhausted. Final complaint responses from DWP signpost complainants to the ICE Office if they remain dissatisfied with the response to their complaint and tell them they have six months in which to do so. In response to: (a) we do not collect information about the average time taken by complainants to escalate their complaint to the Independent Case Examiner’s Office, following receipt of DWPs final complaint response; (b) to date, the average time take to allocate complaints about the equalisation of state pension age to an investigation case manager is 44 week; and (c) following allocation to an investigation case manger the average time taken to conclude an investigation into this group of complaints is 9 weeks (against a target of 20 weeks).

Universal Credit: Internet

Ged Killen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2018 to Question 128375 on universal credit: internet, and the oral contribution of the Prime Minister in response to the hon. Member for Rutherglen and Hamilton West on 7 February 2018, Official Report, column 1489, what progress she has made on the establishment of an online password reset function for universal credit claimants.

Alok Sharma: I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I provided to Questions 131045 and 131046 on 08 March 2018.

Employment and Support Allowance

Emma Dent Coad: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant the Answer of 16 May 2018 to Question 142517, whether the change in wording to the ESA65B letter to claimants’ doctors was authorised by the Cabinet Secretary at the request of the then Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

Sarah Newton: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Independent Case Examiner: Complaints

Emma Dent Coad: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time taken to reach a determination on a complaint escalated to the Independent Case Examiner was in 2017-18.

Kit Malthouse: The Independent Case Examiner’s Office provides a demand led service. Once a complaint has been accepted for examination it awaits allocation to an investigation case manager. The time complaints wait to be brought into investigation depends on the volume of referrals received, the complexity of the cases on hand and the available investigative resource. During the 2017/18 reporting year the average time taken to reach a determination on a complaint escalated to the Independent Case Examiner (from the point the complaint was accepted for examination to case closure) was 60.87 weeks, whilst the average time taken to conclude an investigation from the point it was allocated to an investigation case manager to case closure was 19 weeks (against a target of 20 weeks).

Disability Living Allowance

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the proportion of parents of children who receive the higher rate disability living allowance mobility component who are not qualified to drive.

Sarah Newton: The Department does not collect this information. Ability to drive is not an eligibility condition for the higher rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance. Eligibility is based, for example, on limitations in someone’s ability to freely manoeuvre outdoors without guidance or supervision or whether someone is unable or virtually unable to walk. People in receipt of the higher rate mobility component who wish to join the Motability scheme and lease a vehicle but who cannot drive can nominate a named driver to drive their Motability car.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an estimate of the (a) number and (b) proportion of benefit claimants who have been sanctioned and subsequently find employment at (i) 3 months, (ii) 6 months and (iii) 12 months after having been sanctioned.

Alok Sharma: The Department has not made the estimates requested, however Departmental statisticians are currently developing these statistics further to look at destinations into employment following a sanction. The Department also publishes experimental statistics on claimants receiving a benefit sanction which currently show information on the number and proportion of individuals receiving sanctions, including time spent on benefits following the sanction. These figures can be found in our quarterly Benefit Sanction Statistics available at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/710021/benefit-sanctions-statistics-to-january-2018.pdf

Personal Independence Payment

Neil Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of disability living allowance claimants who have been asked to attend a re-assessment for personal independence payments have requested their assessment take place at home; and how many of those who have made such a request had that request rejected.

Sarah Newton: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Personal Independence Payment

Neil Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether a personal independence payment assessment report includes observations of a claimant’s behaviour that is not included in the criteria for that assessment.

Sarah Newton: Guidance on how a Health Professional should conduct a face-to-face appointment for Personal Independence Payment (PIP), including what to record in the assessment, is in Part 1, Chapter 6 of the PIP Assessment Guide (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-assessment-guide-for-assessment-providers/pip-assessment-guide-part-1-the-assessment-process) . As paragraph 1.6.31 makes clear, informal observations are an important part of the suite of evidence a Decision Maker will use to come to a decision.

Industrial Health and Safety: Private Sector

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) value for money of the private sector health and safety accreditation market.

Sarah Newton: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Health and Safety Executive: Finance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much commercial income the Health and Safety Executive budgeted for in each of the last five years.

Sarah Newton: HSE budgeted for the following commercial income figures in each of the last five years.  2013/142014/152015/162016/172017/18Commercial Budget (£M)10.414.216.816.318.0

Jobcentres: Closures

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many job centres have closed in each constituency in each year between 2010 and 2018.

Alok Sharma: In March 2018, the 20-year contract covering the majority of DWPs current estate of over 900 sites came to an end. This presented an opportunity to re-evaluate what we needed from our estate. The increased use of our online services in recent years, coupled with reductions in unemployment and improved efficiency, meant that 20% of the rent being paid by DWP was going toward space we were not using. Given this, it is right that we reconfigure our Jobcentre estate and make the jobcentres fit for the 21st century. This is not about reducing services, but about taking the opportunity to stop spending money on empty space so we can spend more on supporting those in need. On 5 July 2017, the Department for Work and Pensions confirmed that some smaller jobcentres would merge with larger ones, and others would be co-located in local government premises. Merging our staff and services from some smaller or underutilised jobcentres, into larger jobcentres nearby, makes better use of space and reduces costs to the taxpayer while still maintaining the same excellent level of customer service. We are committed to retaining a jobcentre network and continuing to serve people in all areas of the UK to make sure they can continue to access the tailored services they need. The attached list contains the information requested.



Jobcentre Closures
(PDF Document, 152.28 KB)

Universal Credit: Disqualification

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of universal credit claimants in employment that have been sanctioned in the most recent three months for which data is available.

Alok Sharma: Universal Credit provides us with the opportunity to support people to progress, and we are building the evidence about what works, such as through a large-scale Randomised Control Trial. This trial tested different degrees of in-work support and conditionality to support people to progress. Through targeted work coach support, requirements were agreed to support individuals to take reasonable action to help them to earn more where appropriate. The trial finished on 31 March 2018. The following link provides figures for the data collected so far on sanctions for in work claimants: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/in-work-progression-trial-update-april-2015-to-october-2016 This shows that up to the end of October 2016, 319 sanctions had been applied to 15,455 trial participants: approximately 2%. This means that 98% of all trial participants were not sanctioned. The trial started on 20 April 2015, so the 319 sanctions cover the time period from the start of the trial to the end of October 2016. The majority of the sanctions that were applied were low level: 92% of all sanctions applied were for failing to attend meetings or phone calls without good reason. Further statistical information regarding the number of sanctions and suspensions for in-work claimants within the Randomised Control Trial will be published in Autumn 2018.

Universal Credit

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2017 to Question 7537, what the evidential basis is for the research that showed that the majority of universal credit claimants are comfortable managing their budgets.

Alok Sharma: The Universal Credit Extended Gateway Evaluation provided evidence that indicated that a large majority of Universal Credit claimants are comfortable managing their budgets. The report can be accessed at:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/481865/universal-credit-extended-gateway-evaluation.pdf

Universal Credit: Care Leavers

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to flag care leavers in the universal credit system as currently with job seekers allowance.

Alok Sharma: Universal Credit already captures information on claimants with complex needs, including care leavers, as part of the claimant profile.

Housing Benefit

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of local discretionary council housing payments being made available people who are in work but do not have savings.

Kit Malthouse: Discretionary Housing Payments are administered by Local Authorities who are best placed to make informed judgements about relative priorities and needs in their area to ensure that the most vulnerable are supported and the funds are targeted effectively. They are available to people who are in receipt of benefits or are working and entitled to either Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit, and experiencing a shortfall in their housing costs.

Universal Credit

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of people in (a) Easington constituency and (b) England who are in receipt of universal credit and in rent arrears.

Kit Malthouse: I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I provided to Question 139031 on 8 May 2018.

Offshore Industry: Divers

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the basic training qualifications for industrial divers in the offshore oil and gas and wind sectors in enabling those employees to transfer their skills between the two sectors.

Sarah Newton: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Members: Correspondence

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the Director of the Child Maintenance Service plans to respond to the letter of 18 April 2018 from the right hon. Member for Warley.

Kit Malthouse: We have urgently contacted the House of Commons office and we now have a copy of the letter of 18 April 2018 to which we will reply as a matter of urgency. We are also investigating the circumstances which gave rise to this delay.

Carillion: Insolvency

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Pensions Regulator on the decision to bring forward payments into the Pension Protection Fund due to collapse of Carillion; and what assessment he has made of the effect of that decision on capital investment.

Guy Opperman: All DB pension schemes are required to pay Pension Protection Fund (PPF) risked based levy. The PPF levy is the only payment that schemes are required to make to the PPF prior to insolvency. After an employer insolvency event, the pension scheme will enter a PPF assessment period, where the PPF will determine whether the scheme has sufficient funds to pay benefits at PPF compensation levels or above. Schemes that do not meet this test will transfer into the PPF (including any assets) and scheme members will receive PPF compensation. The Government sets the legislative framework for pension schemes - this is overseen by the independent Pensions Regulator, and it would not be appropriate for Government to intervene. There have been no discussions between the DWP Ministers and the Pensions Regulator regarding payments made by Carillion into the PPF.

Universal Credit

Danielle Rowley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many women had their application for support for a child conceived without consent whilst claiming universal tax credit refused since 6 April 2017.

Alok Sharma: Statistics relating to the policy to provide support for a maximum of two children in Child Tax Credit and Universal Credit will be published this year.

Universal Credit: Disqualification

Danielle Rowley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many sanctions were made against claimants of universal credit in the last financial year; how many of those people sanctioned asked for a mandatory reconsideration; and how many decisions on those sanctions for which such a reconsideration was requested were upheld.

Alok Sharma: Statistics on the volume and outcomes of Universal Credit sanction decisions and mandatory reconsiderations up to January 2018, the latest available at the time of request, are published and can be found at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/Guidance for users is available at:https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.htmlWe take a number of steps to make sure our decisions are fair. When considering whether a sanction is appropriate, a Decision Maker will take all the claimant’s individual circumstances into account, including any health conditions or disabilities and any evidence of good cause they have provided, before deciding whether a sanction is warranted. If a claimant disagrees with a decision, they can ask for the decision to be reconsidered and subsequently can appeal against the decision to an independent tribunal.

Bereavement Support Payment

Graham P Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the value of the new bereavement support payment to affected families.

Kit Malthouse: We intend to assess the impact of Bereavement Support Payment once sufficient evidence is available to assess all aspects of the policy.

Universal Credit: Disqualification

Danielle Rowley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many hardship payments have been made to universal credit claimants while they were under sanctions.

Alok Sharma: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. We have a well-established system of hardship payments available as a safeguard if a claimant demonstrates that they cannot meet their immediate and most essential needs, including accommodation, heating, food and hygiene, as a result of their sanction. Claimants are provided with information about hardship payments when a sanction referrral is made to a Decision Maker and also following the application of a sanction. This includes assistance, if required, with applying for a hardship payment.

Pension Protection Fund

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to increase the level of compensation payable by the Pension Protection Fund.

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of providing inflation-linked increases to the amounts payable by the Pension Protection Fund to people with pre-April 1997 pensionable service.

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the cost of extending inflation-linked increases to the amounts payable by the Pension Protection Fund to people with pre-April 1997 pensionable service.

Guy Opperman: The Labour government set up the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) to pay a meaningful level of compensation to DB scheme members where the sponsoring employer becomes insolvent. The PPF is fundamentally funded by a levy on eligible schemes. Therefore, any decision to increase either the level of compensation, or to provide inflation increases to pensions built up before April 1997, would result in significant increases to levy payers. It is not proposed to change the present law.

Home Office

Immigration: EU Nationals

Sir Vince Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information will be required of EU citizens applying for (a) temporary and (b) settled status.

Caroline Nokes: The application system for the EU exit settlement scheme will be streamlined, user-friendly and draw on existing government data to minimise the burden on applicants to provide evidence.Every applicant will be required to provide proof of their identity and nationality, and declare any criminal convictions. They will also need to provide basic contact details and a recent photograph of themselves. Those that have them will also be asked to provide their national insurance number and the reference numbers of any documents previously issued to them by the Home Office.In some cases, where the existing government data is not sufficient to confirm the applicant’s qualification for either settled or temporary status, they may need to provide additional evidence of their residence in the UK.We will publish further details in due course.

Immigrants: English Language

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has received evidence that sessions of Toeic tests administered by ETS before 2014 included both genuine and fraudulent entries.

Caroline Nokes: As previously set out to the Home Affairs Select Committee (HASC), where ETS analysis found no direct evidence of cheating but they could not be confident in the test result because of the large number of confirmed invalid results at the same test centre, a test result would be deemed “questionable”.Nobody with a questionable test certificate should have action taken against them on this basis without first being given the chance to re-sit a test and attend an interview.

Synergy Business College of London

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what concerns were brought to the attention of the Home Office following the unannounced audit visits to Synergy College in May 2012 and January 2013; and what steps he has taken in response to these concerns.

Caroline Nokes: Under the terms of the licence agreement in place at the time it was the responsibility of the test provider to ensure that tests were delivered in a secure environment. Following the discovery of widespread fraud in 2015 new, strengthened arrangements for Secure English Language Testing (SELT) were introduced.These arrangements included a reduction in the number of providers approved to deliver SELT, a reduction in the number of test centres and a requirement that these test centres are run directly by the provider rather than sub-contracted to other private organisations. Security requirements were also improved – test centres are required to video all test sessions and the Home Office now directly audits test centres both in the UK and overseas. The scheduling of these audits is based on volume and risk.

Defence Fire and Rescue Service

Gareth Snell: To as the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions he has had with Chief Fire Officers on consequential effects of proposals from the Ministry of Defence to contract out the Defence Fire and Rescue Service.

Mr Nick Hurd: There have been no discussions between the Secretary of State and Chief Fire Officers of local Fire and Rescue Services regarding the consequential effects of the MOD’s proposals to contract out the Defence and Fire and Rescue Service.

Cybercrime: West Midlands

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made an assessment of trends in the level of cyber crime in the West Midlands; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Ben Wallace: The Home Office collects information from police forces on the number of police recorded offences that have been committed (in full or in part) online. These data will mostly comprise cyber-enabled offences. The latest data for England and Wales for the year to December 2017 are published at the link below:https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/crimeinenglandandwalesexperimentaltables (Table E4)These are experimental statistics and are only published at national (England and Wales) level while the Home Office works with forces to improve the data quality.The Home Office collects additional police data on fraud and cybercrime via the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB). These data include both cyber-dependent and cyber-enabled offences. The latest data for England and Wales for the year to December 2017 are published at the link below:https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/crimeinenglandandwalesappendixtables (Table A5)Breakdowns of these data by both police force area and offence type are not held at the Home Office.The cyber threats we face continue to grow in scale and sophistication. This is why the National Cyber Security Strategy 2016-2021 is supported by £1.9billion of transformational investment. We are continuing to invest in cyber capabilities within law enforcement at the national, regional and local levels, to ensure that law enforcement have the capabilities in place to go after the most sophisticated criminals. In particular, we will be supporting the national policing initiative to ensure that that every police force has a specialist Cyber Crime Unit. It is crucial that at the local level we provide an effective law enforcement response, support victims and give targeted prevention messages.

Refugees: Children

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have arrived in the UK under the Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Scheme; what the nationalities of those people were; and how many of those people were under the age of 18 when they arrived.

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people arrived in the UK under the Gateway and Mandate schemes in each of the last ten years.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office is committed to publishing data in an orderly way as part of the regular quarterly Immigration Statistics, in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.The next publication, which contains data on resettlements up to and including 31 March 2018, is due for release on 24 May, and will contain a breakdown of children resettled under each scheme since 2010.

Detainees: Harassment

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that there is a zero tolerance approach to sexual assault and harassment by staff of detainees in detention centres.

Caroline Nokes: We expect the highest standards from those we entrust with the safety and welfare of those in detention.All complaints made by detainees are investigated by the relevant supplier in accordance with Detention Services Order 03/2015 'Handling complaints'. There is additionally an avenue of escalation to the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman for detainees who are dissatisfied with the way their complaint has been handledAny allegations of serious misconduct made by a detainee against staff are also referred to the Home Office Professional Standards Unit (PSU) for investigation. Where a detainee, or someone on behalf of a detainee, alleges that a member of staff has committed an offence against them the police will automatically be notified, even if the detainee does not wish the matter to be reported or to make a formal complaint.

Emergency Calls: Greater London

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the average emergency response time to 999 calls in (a) the London Borough of Southwark, and (b) London in each of the last seven years.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office does not collect this data as the handling of 999 calls is an operational matter for the police. It is for elected Police Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables to decide how best to manage their communications and response to the public.However, in March 2018, as part of its annual effectiveness reports on all police forces in England and Wales, HMICFRS briefly assessed calls from the public.The report for the Metropolitan Police force can be found at:https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/wp-content/uploads/peel-police-effectiveness-2017-metropolitan.pdf

Metropolitan Police: Civilians

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many administrative and office-based support staff were employed by (a) Metropolitan Police Southwark and (b) the Metropolitan Police Service in each of the last seven years.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the roles of police officers, police staff and police community support officers (PCSOs), including the number of full time equivalents primarily employed in ‘support function’ roles. Those with multiple responsibilities or designations are recorded under their primary function. Therefore, the data does not provide a complete picture of all officers and staff assigned to support function roles.The Home Office only collects these data at Police Force Area level. This information can be found in the data tables published alongside the annual ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin.The latest data available, which show the picture as at 31 March 2017, can be found in Tables F1 (officers), F2 (staff) and F3 (PCSOs) of the police workforce statistics published in July 2017: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/629865/police-workforce-tabs-jul17.odsData as at 31 March 2015 and 31 March 2016 can be found in Tables F1-F6 of the police workforce statistics published in July 2016: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/544954/police-workforce-tabs-jul16.odsPrevious data were collected under a different framework, with different definitions, and are therefore not directly comparable with data as at 31 March 2015 onwards. Data under the old framework have been published since 2012, and can be found in the supplementary data tables of the relevant police workforce publications via the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-walesPolice functions data are often affected by re-structuring within police forces. Therefore, comparisons over time for specific functions should be made with care.Decisions on the size and composition of the police workforce are operational matters for Chief Officers working with their Police and Crime Commissioners and taking into account local priorities.

Immigration: Offenders

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it is his policy to backdate the granting of further leave to remain in cases where a decision has been withheld pending criminal charges but where the applicant is subsequently found innocent of all charges.

Caroline Nokes: There is no provision in the Immigration Rules to backdate a grant of leave. If an individual made an application prior to expiry of previous leave, that leave will have been extended by virtue of Section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 until such time as the application is decided, meaning there would be no break in lawful stay in the UK.Those who apply after expiry of previous leave will have their stay regularised from the date their application is granted, but the intervening period will not retrospectively be considered as lawful.

Police

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the effect of the reduction in police officer numbers of approximately 21,000 since September 2009 on the police's ability to (a) protect the public, (b) prevent crime and (c) investigate crime; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Nick Hurd: We recognise that the police are dealing with genuine increases in demand and that it is important to ensure that they have the resources and tools that they need. After I spoke to every police force in England and Wales about the challenges they face, we enabled Police and Crime Commissioners to increase their direct funding by £280m through greater flexibility to raise precept. Most PCCs have set out plans to use this additional income to protect or enhance front line policing.We are also supporting forces to increase their productivity through better use of digital technology because we know that if all forces can match the performance of the best, it would save every officer an hour a day that they can spend on the front line. This is the equivalent of 11,000 extra officers a year on the streets.

European Arrest Warrants

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the European Arrest Warrant is planned to be fully operational during the implementation period.

Mr Nick Hurd: The draft agreement reached with the European Commission in March means police and criminal justice cooperation, including using the European Arrest Warrant, with the EU and its Member States can continue through the implementation period to December 2020.Negotiations on that draft agreement are ongoing, and in respect of some Articles drafting changes or clarifications are still required. Discussions continue in relation to specific aspects of the arrangements that will apply to the European Arrest Warrant.As set out in the UK’s proposal for the Framework of the UK-EU Security Partnership published on 9 May, the government considers that current capabilities under the European Arrest Warrant allow for reliable and efficient provision of assistance between jurisdictions. It is in the interests of both the UK and the EU that these capabilities are preserved during the implementation period and we will continue to make that case

Visas

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 21 May 2018 to Question 144296, how many Tier 1 (general) applications were refused in each of the last five years where there were substantial differences of over £10,000 between the earnings used to claim points in an immigration application and an applicant’s HMRC records.

Caroline Nokes: As I confirmed to the Home Affairs Select Committee on 8 May and in my previous answer to Question 144296, we are carrying out a review of Tier 1 (General) cases. This includes a manual check of all refused applications since 1 January 2017. We will report the findings of the review to Parliament.

Police Stations: Closures

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police stations have closed in each constituency in each year between 2010 and 2018.

Mr Nick Hurd: I refer the Rt Hon Member to the response provided to the Hon Member for Upper Bann on 10 May 2018, UIN 141753.

Metropolitan Police: Police Patrolling

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many hours police officers spent on patrol in (a) the London Borough of Southwark and (b) the Metropolitan Police Service in each of the last seven years.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office does not centrally hold the information requested.The Home Office collects and publishes information on the primary roles that police officers perform, as well as the number of frontline officers, for Police Force Areas in England and Wales. Data are collected on a full-time equivalent (FTE) basis, with no information available for the number of hours spent performing each role. These data are published annually as part of the 'police workforce, England and Wales' statistical bulletin, the latest of which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-workforce-england-and-wales-31-march-2017Data on the primary roles officers perform, and the number of officers on the frontline, are only collected at Police Force Area level and cannot be broken down any further. Furthermore, the number of officers specifically on foot patrol cannot be separately identified. The latest available data on frontline officers, broken down by Police Force Area and going back to 2010, can be found in Table_F5 of the data tables accompanying the main release.Data for the years 2010 to 2014 are estimated since data prior to 31 March 2015 were collected under a different framework, with different definitions.Decisions on the size and deployment of the police workforce are operational matters for Chief Officers working with their Police and Crime Commissioners and taking into account local priorities.

Immigrants: Detainees

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many residents have been detained in immigration detention centres with issues outstanding from (a) the constituency of Camberwell and Peckham and (b) the London Borough of Southwark in each of the last seven years.

Caroline Nokes: The information requested could only be supplied at disproportionate cost.Home Office data is not broken down by Parliamentary constituency or metropolitan borough. The latest data, which goes back to 2009, is published in ‘Immigration Statistics, October to December 2017’, and is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/681703/detention-oct-dec-2017-tables.ods.

Doctors: Migrant Workers

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 16 May 2018 to Question 141827, what methodology and criteria he is using to monitor the effect of the operation of the immigration cap on potential NHS doctors; if he will make it his policy to remove those restrictions; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Nokes: The Government recognises fully the contribution that doctors working in the NHS – and other professionals – make to the UK. But it is also important to ensure that our immigration routes work in the national interest and protects the resident labour market.Where the number of applications by UK based employers exceeds the monthly allocation of available Tier 2 (General) places, first priority is given to applications filling a shortage occupation, followed by PhD-level occupations, graduate occupations and lastly on salary, from highest to lowest.A number of medical professionals, including consultants working in the specialisms of emergency medicine, clinical radiology and old age psychiatry are already recognised to be in national shortage, as determined by the Migration Advisory Committee, and receive priority within the allocation of Tier 2 places. We estimate that around 40% of all Tier 2 places go to the NHS.No application seeking to undertake a job in national shortage has ever been refused a place because of the visa cap.

Deportation

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much his Department spent on (a) chartered and (b) commercial flights to (i) remove and (ii) deport people from the UK in each of the last three years.

Caroline Nokes: The table below shows the total costs of public expense removals in 2015/16 and 2016/17 which includes; charter flight costs, scheduled flights ticketing costs, ticket contract management costs and other administrative costs (including the costs of cancelled flights). These costs also cover the ticketing costs for overseas security escorts. Financial yearScheduled Flights (£ million) Charter Flights (£ million)Net Total  (£ Million )2015-2016 £17.3£9.1£26.42016-2017 £17.0£8.6£25.6 By precedent, we do not release data for 2017-18 until the Home Office accounts have been finalised, audited by the National Audit Office, and laid before Parliament.

Deportation

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many chartered flights were used to (a) deport and (b) remove people from the UK by destination in each of the last three years.

Caroline Nokes: The table below shows the number of returns by charter flights. This data is not available broken down by “removed” and “deported”.2015-2016Number of charter flightsReturnsPakistan14671Afghanistan111Nigeria and Ghana6308Morocco11Albania15720Total:371711 2016-2017Number of charter flightsReturnsAlbania15744Pakistan12467Nigeria and Ghana6271Jamaica274Germany243Total :371599 2017-2018Number of charter flightsReturnsAlbania15645Pakistan11441Nigeria and Ghana7297Nigeria only136France, Switzerland and Bulgaria124France, Austria and Bulgaria123France and Bulgaria122Germany377Total :401565 The Home Office charter flights to a number of European countries. This is to transfer asylum seekers whose claims have been considered in line with the Dublin Regulation, or who are beneficiaries of international protection in another safe EU Member State.

Deportation: Caribbean

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether (a) Ministers an (b) officials have instructed the cancellation of (i) chartered flights and (ii) commercially purchased tickets to (A) remove and (B) deport individuals from the UK to any Caribbean country in the last three months.

Caroline Nokes: The Department took a number of additional steps in the context of its response to Windrush issues to provide added levels of assurance on its enforcement activity including the deferral of some returns flights to the Caribbean.

Deportation: Caribbean

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) flights were chartered and (b) commercial seats were booked to (i) remove and (ii) deport people from the UK to Caribbean countries in each of the last 12 months.

Caroline Nokes: The table below shows tickets on commercial airlines purchased in the 12 months in the year ending March 2018, to facilitate the return of illegal migrants to all Caribbean countries. There were no charter flights operated to Caribbean countries in that 12 month period.The data also includes all tickets purchased and includes multiple tickets for in-direct flights. MonthTotal BookingsApr 1779May 1793Jun 17104Jul 1773Aug 17108Sep 1791Oct 1752Nov 1769Dec 17123Jan 1856Feb 1873March 1870

Immigrants: Detainees

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his Department's policy is on access to (a) internet, (b) email, (c) social media, (d) landline telephone, (e) mobile telephone and (f) Skype for detainees at UK immigration detention centres.

Caroline Nokes: The statutory Detention Centre Rules 2001, published Operating Standards for immigration removal centres (IRCs) and published Detention Services Orders set out the requirements for availability and access to telephones, the internet and email.Detention Services Order 08/2012 sets out the Home Office’s policy on detainees’ possession of mobile phones in IRCs. Detainees are able to retain their own mobile telephones throughout their detention, provided their handset has no recording facility and/or access to the internet. Where a detainee’s handset does not comply with these restrictions they are provided with a suitable handset by the immigration removal centre supplier so that they may maintain contact with friends, family and other means of support.The provision of internet access in immigration removal centres helps detainees to remain in contact with family, friends and legal representatives and to prepare for removal.Detention Services Order 04/2016 provides guidance on access to the internet. It is a contractual requirement that all immigration removal centres provide detainees with reasonable and regulated access to the internet and IT facilities. The Home Office is undertaking an initial scoping exercise on the use of Skype for detainee contact with families abroad.

Police

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his speech to the Police Federation on 23 May 2018, whether police numbers have been stable since 2015.

Mr Nick Hurd: Since the 2015 Spending Review police numbers have been broadly stable.The Police Workforce at March 2016 was 200,922 compared to 198,388 in September 2017 (-1.2%). However, in the 12 months between September 2016 and 2017 the police workforce increased by 180 (0.1%).Most Police and Crime Commissioners have set out plans to either protect or increase frontline policing following the 2018-19 police funding settlement.

Deportation: Migrant Workers

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 21 May 2018 to Question 144296 on Deportation: Migrant Workers, and with reference to refusals having been given where there have been substantial differences of often tens of thousands of pounds between the earnings used to claim points in an immigration application and an applicant’s HMRC records without a credible explanation from the applicant, what numerical value applies to the term often.

Caroline Nokes: As I confirmed to the Home Affairs Select Committee on 8 May and in my previous answer to Question 144296, we are carrying out a review of Tier 1 (General) cases. This includes a manual check of all refused applications since 1 January 2017. We will report the findings of the review to Parliament.

Bail

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police applications for pre-charge bail have been made for (a) drug offences, (b) rape charges, (c) firearms offences, (d) other dangerous weapon offences, (e) grievous bodily harm, (f) manslaughter, (g) murder and (h) all other offences in (i) Derbyshire and (ii) each region of the UK in the last five years.

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many successful police applications for pre-charge bail have been made for (a) drug offences, (b) rape charges, (c) firearms offences, (d) other dangerous weapon offences, (e) grievous bodily harm, (f) manslaughter, (g) murder and (h) all other offences in (i) Derbyshire and (ii) each region of the UK in the last five years.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office does not centrally hold the information requested.From April 2017 the Home Office has requested information on a voluntary basis from the police on the number of individuals released on pre-charge bail, broken down by bail length. It is intended that these data will be published for the first time in Autumn 2018. However, these data will not contain information on the offence group.

Carillion: Migrant Workers

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support his Department provides to former Carillion staff who have been asked to reapply for Tier 2 sponsorship since that company went into liquidation.

Caroline Nokes: We are aware of an individual case where a former member of Carillion staff has made an enquiry about obtaining new leave to remain on the basis of having obtained employment with a new employer. We have offered a dedicated point of contact in UKVI for the individual or employer to refer to if they need any advice or assistance in submitting a new application

Catering: Migrant Workers

Tommy Sheppard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason restaurants that offer a takeaway or home delivery service have been precluded from becoming Tier 2 visa sponsors since 2011; and what assessment he has made of the effect of that policy on the strength of the south Asian and east Asian restaurant sector since that date.

Tommy Sheppard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of changing the restrictions on Tier 2 visa sponsorship for chefs.

Caroline Nokes: Tier 2 (General) supports non-EEA high skilled workers taking up employment with UK based employers. The MAC has consulted widely with the restaurant industry on a number of occasions and they have concluded that the current criteria adequately identify the very best chefs whilst providing measures for preventing abuse of the system. In order to define what constitutes a skilled chef, the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) and the Home Office developed criteria designed to identify the top 5% to 8% of chefs. Only chefs who meet these criteria are able to qualify under Tier 2 (General).Part of the qualifying criteria is that the job must not be in an establishment which provides a take-away service. We believe that the finest quality restaurants are generally not associated with the provision of takeaway services. We recognise that there may be a small number of high quality exceptions, but the immigration system has to apply clear, objective and verifiable criteria equally to all applications.We are carefully considering a range of options for the future immigration system and will set out initial plans in the coming months. The Government is clear that we will make decisions on the future immigration system based on evidence and engagement. That is why we asked the independent Migration Advisory Committee to advise on the economic and social impacts of the UK’s exit from the EU and also on how the UK’s immigration system should be aligned with a modern industrial strategy. The MAC’s report is due to be published in September.

Asylum

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has had discussions with Refugee Action on the recommendations of its report on waiting in the dark: how the asylum system dehumanises, disempowers and damages published in May.

Caroline Nokes: Home Office Ministers and officials meet regularly with Refugee Action and other NGOs to discuss the operation of the asylum system.

Police

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the number of police officers was in England and Wales by rank for the latest date for which information is available.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office collects and publishes statistics on the number of police officers employed by each Police Force Area in England and Wales on a bi-annual basis. These data are published in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletins.Detailed data on the number of officers by rank is collected and published on an annual basis only. The latest data available, covering the situation as at 31 March 2017, can be found in Table_H2 of the data tables accompanying the main release, and can be accessed here:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/629865/police-workforce-tabs-jul17.odsThe next release of ‘Police workforce’ statistics is due to be published on 19th July, and will represent the picture as at 31 March 2018.

Forensic Science

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the urgent review of 33 cases launched by the Metropolitan Police over suspected mishandling of evidence in the forensic laboratory, what information his Department holds on (a) number of boroughs affected and (b) number of cases involving on offender under 18 years old.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office does not hold information on either a) the number of boroughs affected and b) the number of cases involving an offender under 18 years.

Northern Ireland Office

Borders: Northern Ireland

Ged Killen: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether she has taken steps to assess public opinion towards different potential border checks between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland after the UK leaves the EU.

Mr Shailesh Vara: We are committed to there being no hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, which will mean no physical infrastructure at the border, or related checks and controls. Throughout engagements with a broad range of stakeholders both the Secretary of State and I have made that commitment very clear.

Members: Correspondence

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when she plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Bradford South of 6 December 2017 in relation to a constituent of Bradford South.

Karen Bradley: A response was belatedly issued on 31 May 2018 to the letter from the hon Member for Bradford South of 6 December 2017. This was due to an administrative error, for which I would like to apologise to the hon Member.

Northern Ireland Office: Government Chief Scientific Adviser

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many meetings she had with the Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser between 1 January and 31 March 2018.

Mr Shailesh Vara: There have been no meetings with the Chief Scientific Adviser and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland between 1 January and 31 March 2018.

Treasury

Roadchef: Employee Benefit Trusts

Jessica Morden: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his Oral Answer of 17 April 2018, Official Report, column 179, what progress HMRC is making on reaching an agreement with the Roadchef Employee Benefit Trust on the outstanding tax issues.

Mel Stride: As I mentioned in the Oral Answer of 17 April 2018, HMRC is in discussion with the trustees in this case and hopes for a resolution soon.

Children: Day Care

Tracy Brabin: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 24 April 2018 to Question 137634 on Children: Day Care, what funding his Department had allocated for (a) Call Centre Costs and (b) IT Support Costs in advance of financial year 2017-18.

Elizabeth Truss: Parents apply for Tax-Free Childcare and 30 hours free childcare through a single online application - the childcare service. The forecast costs for running the childcare service for 2017-18 were £28.7million for the call centre and operational support and £16.1million for IT support.

National Fund

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of appointing a small group of fund managers to oversee the National Fund to ascertain its growth potential over the next 25 years.

John Glen: The National Fund is a charitable trust set up in 1928 for the purpose of accumulating income sufficient to discharge the National Debt. According to expert evidence, there is no realistic prospect of the Fund ever amounting to a sum sufficient to pay off the whole of the National Debt. The Attorney General has applied to the High Court for the National Fund to be released, with the proceeds used for reducing the National Debt. This use of the funds is in keeping with the fund’s original intention. It is for the High Court to determine the Attorney General’s application.

Tax Avoidance

Faisal Rashid: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the (a) economy and (b) NHS of the 2019 Loan Charge.

Mel Stride: The 2019 loan charge is targeted at artificial schemes where earnings were paid in the form of non-repayable loans made by an offshore third party. It is unfair to ordinary taxpayers to let anybody benefit from contrived tax avoidance of this sort, and that is why this government has taken action to ensure that everybody pays the taxes they owe. Given the specific targeting of these contrived tax avoidance schemes, the 2019 loan charge is not expected to have significant effects on the economy or the NHS.

Tax Avoidance

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason the Government retrospectively introduced the 2019 Loan Charge from 1999 rather than from the date of Royal Assent to the Finance Act 2017; what assessment the Government has made of the effect of that decision to backdate on contracted staff (a) in general and (b) in relation to the potential for consequential bankruptcies; how many people will be required to pay backdated taxes as a result of the introduction of that charge; and what estimate the Government has made of what proportion of those people will lack the financial means to pay that charge.

Mel Stride: The 2019 loan charge is targeted at artificial schemes where earnings were paid in the form of non-repayable loans made by an offshore third party (“disguised remuneration” schemes). It is unfair to ordinary taxpayers to let anybody benefit from contrived tax avoidance of this sort, and that is why this government has taken action to ensure that everybody pays the taxes they owe. The loan charge is not retrospective. It is a new charge arising on disguised remuneration loan balances that remain outstanding on 5 April 2019. Its announcement at Budget 2016 provided scheme users with a three year period to repay their loans, or to agree a settlement with HMRC before the charge takes effect. The government estimates that around 50,000 individuals are affected by this legislation. HMRC are able to help taxpayers who are not able to pay their taxes and will work with those who are in genuine difficulty to help them to get back on track.

Public Expenditure

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, on what date he plans to publish the 2019 Spending Review which was announced in the 2018 Spring Statement.

Elizabeth Truss: As the PM confirmed in Cabinet on 23rd January, the government will undertake the next Spending Review in 2019, so that budgets can be set out in advance for 2020 onwards. The exact publication date will be confirmed in due course.

Enterprise Management Incentives: Tax Allowances

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) businesses and (b) people claimed income tax relief through the Enterprise Management Incentives scheme in 2016-17.

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many businesses claimed income tax relief through the Approved Company Share Options Plans in 2016-17.

Mel Stride: Statistics on the Company Share Options Plans and Enterprise Management Incentives schemes are published in Tables 6.4 and 6.6 of the Employee Share Schemes Statistics publication: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/employee-share-schemes-statistics Estimates are updated annually and the latest year for which data is available is 2015/16. Estimates for 2016/17 will be published in due course.

Venture Capital Trusts: Tax Allowances

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) businesses and (b) people claimed income tax relief through Venture Capital Trusts in 2016-17.

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) businesses and (b) people claimed income tax relief through the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme in 2016-17.

Mel Stride: HMRC publishes statistics on the number of individuals claiming income tax relief on investments in Venture Capital Trusts here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/venture-capital-trusts-statistics The latest release of these statistics was published in December 2017 and includes data up to 2015-16. Statistics for 2016-17 will be published later this year. HMRC publishes statistics on the number of individuals claiming income tax relief through the Enterprise Investment Scheme and Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/enterprise-investment-scheme-and-seed-enterprise-investment-scheme-statistics The latest release of these statistics was published in October 2017 and includes data up to 2015-16. Statistics for 2016-17 will be published on 31 May 2018. Only individuals are eligible to claim tax relief on investments under the schemes.

Revenue and Customs

Layla Moran: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral contribution of Jon Thompson, Chief Executive and Permanent Secretary to HM Revenue and Customs to the Treasury Committee on 23 May 2018 relating to the postponement of 39 HMRC projects, if he will provide details on which projects have been postponed.

Mel Stride: In response to a question from the Public Accounts Committee on 30 April, HMRC wrote to the Committee with details of these 39 projects. HMRC have subsequently written to the Treasury Committee in similar terms, following a question from that Committee on 23 May.

Public Sector: Redundancy Pay

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 1 March 2018 to Question 129888, on Public Sector: Redundancy Pay, when the process of drafting the necessary regulations began; when that drafting is forecast to be completed; and what the projected number of hours for that drafting process is.

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2017 to Question 116646, on Public Sector: Redundancy Pay, for what reasons a consultation was not brought forward in the first quarter of 2018.

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2017 to Question 116646, on Public Sector: Redundancy Pay, what the matters are for which it was planned a 12 week consultation would take place in the first quarter of 2018; and whether there has been any change in what those matters are since December 2017.

Elizabeth Truss: The Government remains committed to ending six figure pay outs in the public sector. The regulations to implement the exit payment cap were drafted as part of the passage of the Enterprise Act 2016. Since that time, they have undergone further iteration and will be completed following the outcome of the consultation and then laid in Parliament. It is not possible to forecast the hours required to reflect the degree of changes which may be made to the draft regulations following the outcome of the consultation, which will necessarily depend on consultees views and the Government’s response to that consultation. The consultation will seek views on the terms of the draft secondary legislation, including the detailed design of the exit payment cap and the list of bodies to which the cap will apply.

Public Sector: Redundancy Pay

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of exit payments for public sector workers which have exceeded £95,000 since the Enterprise Act 2016 came into force.

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of exit payments for public sector workers which have exceeded £95,000 since the Enterprise Act 2016 came into force.

Elizabeth Truss: Figures published in the Whole of Government Accounts show that during the period of April 2015 to March 2016 there were 1,787 exits paid at over £100,000, costing £0.2bn. There were 5,439 exit payments paid at between £50,000 and £100,000 costing £0.3bn, of which a portion may have been more than £95,000. The Whole of Government Accounts figures for the period since the Enterprise Act 2016 came into force, on May 4 2016, are not yet available and no separate estimate has been made.

Revenue and Customs: Closures

Yvette Cooper: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the (a) names, (b) postcodes and (c) year of closure of the HMRC offices that have closed in each year between 2010 and 2018.

Mel Stride: I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given to the Member for Wrexham on 16 May 2018.

Private Finance Initiative

Anneliese Dodds: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what (a) strategic risk management policy and (b)(i) performance management, (ii) financial control and (iii) other processes his Department uses to monitor private finance initiatives.

Robert Jenrick: The performance of PFI and PF2 contracts is monitored by the procuring authority. The government has published a range of advice on managing PFI and PF2 contracts, covering areas such as operational savings, refinancing and termination. HM Treasury assesses and responds to fiscal and financial risks as part of its ongoing business activities.

Carillion: Private Finance Initiative

Anneliese Dodds: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has estimated the revenue that Carillion accrued from selling its stake in private finance initiative projects; and if he will make a statement.

Anneliese Dodds: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what information his Department holds on the jurisdictions in which those companies that purchased Carillion's stakes in private finance initiative projects were registered; and if he will make a statement.

Robert Jenrick: HM Treasury and the Infrastructure and Projects Authority publish a range of data on PFI projects including the equity holders for projects where this information has been provided by the procuring authorities. It can be found at this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/private-finance-initiative-and-private-finance-2-projects-2017-summary-data.

Carillion: Private Finance Initiative

Anneliese Dodds: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to revise its procedures on monitoring private finance initiatives following the liquidation of Carillion.

Robert Jenrick: PFI helps to deliver a number of large infrastructure projects critical for the success of the UK economy and the provision of essential public services. The Government continually monitors the financial health of all of its strategic suppliers, including those delivering PFI contracts.

Child Tax Credit

Danielle Rowley: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many women have applied for support for a child conceived without consent whilst claiming child tax credits since 6 April 2017.

Danielle Rowley: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many women had their application for support for a child conceived without consent whilst claiming child tax credit refused since 6 April 2017.

Elizabeth Truss: Statistics relating to the policy to provide support for a maximum of two children in Child Tax Credit and Universal Credit will be published on 28th June 2018.

Financial Services

Stephen Timms: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions his officials have had with the EU Commission on reform of the third country equivalence regime.

Stephen Timms: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on reform of the third country equivalence regime.

John Glen: My officials and I engage regularly with EU counterparts and the European Commission in the course of ongoing EU business, including in relation to the third country equivalence regime where it is affected by current legislative proposals. We are clear that we expect inclusion of financial services in the future economic partnership with the EU and that the current regime would not be suitable for the volume of trade that exists between us.

Financial Services

Stephen Timms: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the number of financial service contracts that will require (a) repapering and (b) novating after the UK leaves the EU.

Stephen Timms: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the European Council on the grandfathering of the terms of existing cross-border financial services contracts after the UK leaves the EU.

John Glen: The Financial Policy Committee (FPC) is responsible for reviewing risks to the UK’s financial stability following its exit from the EU, including legal uncertainties concerning existing cross-border financial services contracts sold under passporting arrangements. This affects both UK and EU financial services firms and their customers. The FPC estimates that 10 million UK policyholders and 38 million EEA policyholders could be affected. Whilst coordination between the UK and EU is required to fully mitigate contractual continuity risks, the UK government has been clear that, per its 20 December 2017 announcement, it will legislate if necessary to ensure that contractual obligations can continue to be met, mitigating the effect of withdrawal on existing contractual relationships for inbound firms. There is a shared interest for both the UK and the EU to ensure that we avoid outcomes that impose unnecessary costs and disruption on individuals and businesses as the UK leaves the EU. It is vitally important that we work with our European partners to put the technical arrangements in place to avoid financial market disruption.

Financial Services

Stephen Timms: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect that operating under EU third country regimes may have on the UK asset management industry in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

John Glen: We want our future relationship with the EU to be a deep and special partnership. We are confident that this is in the interests of both sides, so we approach these negotiations anticipating success. We are clear that we expect inclusion of financial services in the future economic partnership with the EU. The Government is undertaking a wide range of ongoing analysis in support of our EU exit negotiations and preparations. Our overall programme of work is comprehensive, thorough and is continuously updated. As a responsible Government, we continue to plan for all scenarios, but with increased confidence that we will leave with a deal.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Procurement

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many contractors have been employed by his Department for (a) up to one year, (b) between one and five years, (c) between five and 10 years and (d) over 10 years.

Margot James: Based on the position at 31st March 2018, the number of contractors employed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport is as follows: DurationContractors(a) up to one year52(b) between one and five years24(c) between five and 10 yearsless than 5(d) over 10 years0‘Contractors’ is taken to include all temporary staff and agency workers.

Holidays

Neil Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Government taking to ensure that people (a) in and (b) out work has the opportunity to have a holiday each year regardless of their income or personal circumstances.

Michael Ellis: I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given to PQ 143186 on 15th May.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Procurement

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many contractors currently employed by his Department are paid £1,000 or more per day.

Margot James: There are no contractors currently employed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport paid more than £1000 a day.

National Fund

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions his Department had with the Attorney General's Office on the future of the National Fund.

Tracey Crouch: The Attorney General wrote to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport setting out the actions he proposed to take regarding the future of the National Fund. The Attorney General has worked closely with the Treasury, the Fund’s trustee, and the Charity Commission to find a solution for the National Fund that is consistent with the donor’s original objectives of extinguishing the national debt.

Tourism

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the economic value of tourism to the (a) UK and (b) South East in each of the last five years.

Michael Ellis: VisitBritain’s data for economic value of tourism in UK and South East are as follows- Inbound Tourism YearUKSouth East2012£18.6 billion£1.9 billion2013£21.3 billion£2 billion2014£21.8 billion£2.2 billion2015£22.1 billion£2.2 billion2016£22.5 billion£2.2 billion2017£24.3 billion£1.68 billion (January-September) Domestic Tourism  YearUK (day) UK (overnight visits)South East (day)South East (overnight visits)2012£65.6 billion£23.9 billion£8.6 billion£1.6 billion2013£62 billion£23.2 billion£8.1 billion£1.4 billion2014£61.8 billion£22.6 billion£8.7 billion£1.6 billion2015£61.9 billion£24.8 billion£7.6 billion£1.6 billion2016£63.9 billion£23 billion£8.6 billion£1.5 billion2017£62.4 billion£23.6 billion£7 billion£2.7 billion

Internet: Safety

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he publish the names of the tech companies that were (a) invited to and (b) attended his Department's most recent meeting on improving online behaviour.

Margot James: Ministers and officials have regular meetings and discussions with social media companies on a range of issues including online behaviour. Details of ministerial meetings are published quarterly on the Gov.uk website.

Treasure Act 1996

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, for what reasons there has been no review of the Treasure Act 1998 for thirteen years.

Michael Ellis: The Treasure Act 1996 (the Act) and the accompanying Codes of Practice were last fully reviewed in 2001. Many of the recommendations in that review, such as the creation of a Treasure Registry at the British Museum were implemented, and have contributed to the continuing success of the treasure process. The process is under constant review and this, along with outstanding recommendations from 2001, will be reflected in proposals to be set out in the forthcoming public consultation on the Act and the Codes of Practice.

Treasure Trove: Codes of Practice

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when he plans to publish the reviewed Treasure Act Code of Practice; when that code was last reviewed; and what the timetable is for future such reviews.

Michael Ellis: The reviewed and revised Treasure Act Code of Practice will be published following a planned public consultation, in accordance with the Treasure Act 1996. The last revised code was published in 2007, and the code is currently under review. We plan to issue a public consultation containing proposals from the review in the coming months.

Personal Injury: Compensation

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans he has to monitor the effectiveness of the provisions of the Financial Guidance and Claims Act 2018 on the number of cold calls and text messages received for personal injury claims.

Margot James: We have included in the Financial Guidance and Claims Act 2018 provision to ban cold calls relating to claims management services except where the receiver has consented to such calls being made to them. This measure will be implemented through the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulation (the framework underpinning electronic communications) and regulated by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), who provide monthly statistics on its website (www.ico.org.uk) on the number of reported nuisance calls. DCMS will continue to work closely with the ICO to monitor the number of cold calls and text messages received for personal injury claims, in light of the new measure. We have also recently published a consultation on providing the ICO with the powers it needs to hold company directors directly responsible for direct marketing breaches. If preferred, this measure would fine rogue directors up to £500,000, raising this national nuisance at boardroom level.

Museums and Galleries: Closures

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will publish the (a) names, (b) postcode location and (c) year of closure of the museums that closed between 2010 and 2018.

Michael Ellis: The department does not systematically collect data on museum closure across the country, given the devolved nature of culture policy, the breadth of operating models in the sector, and the differing measures by which both museums and closures are assessed. The recently published Mendoza Review found a dynamic and resilient sector, with museums across England adapting and diversifying. Whilst a number of museums have undergone restructuring, with some ceasing operations in recent years, regular new openings, mergers and expansions point to the sector’s vibrancy: 29 new UK applicants gained museum accreditation from Arts Council England over the year 2017-18.

Theatres: Closures

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will publish the (a) names, (b) postcode location and (c) year of closure of the theatres that closed between 2010 and 2018.

Michael Ellis: The government does not systematically collect data on theatre closures across the country due to the devolved nature of cultural policy and the breadth of operating models in the sector. The government is committed to ensuring our world class theatre sector continues to thrive across the country and that is why Arts Council England is investing over £100 million of public money into 190 theatres and touring companies over four years.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Manufacturing Industries

Sir Vince Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support British manufacturing firms to diversify into new (a) consumer and (b) overseas markets.

Richard Harrington: The Government’s Industrial Strategy has set out a long-term approach to boost the UK’s productivity growth and ensure that we’re building an economy fit for the future. Our White Paper has set out a range of measures aimed at increasing investment from the private and public sector and includes a commitment to increase total R&D investment to 2.4% of GDP by 2027. The Government will support UK priorities in key areas of innovation through investing in the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, with over £1.7bn committed so far through the first two waves. One example is the £246m Faraday Battery Challenge to position the UK to be at the cutting edge of battery technology. We have also just held an open Expressions of Interest process for potential programmes for a third wave of the Challenge Fund. As we leave the EU we remain committed to making the UK the best place in Europe to own and grow a business. The Department for International Trade (DIT) and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) have dedicated teams who promote the UK as a destination for investment into manufacturing and to boost trade from UK manufacturing companies abroad. In 2016/17, on marine, for example, the DIT High Value Campaign programme secured around £214 million of UK Exports; the Aerospace team supported over £7 billion of aerospace exports; and the DIT rail team recorded overseas export wins to the value of £323million, including manufactured goods.

ABLE Humber Port

Melanie Onn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support the development of the Able Marine Energy Park.

Claire Perry: The development of ABLE is a commercial matter for the company.

Energy: Meters

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when second generation smart meters become available whether priority will be accorded to the conversion of first generation smart meters in circumstances where a consumer is switching energy supplier and their first generation meter is not compatible with their new supplier.

Claire Perry: The Data and Communications Company is developing a solution to move SMETS1 meters onto the national communications infrastructure to enable consumers to retain their smart services upon switching. We expect this to commence in late 2018.

Fracking: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 17 May 2018 on Energy Policy, HCWS690, what representations he received from (a) individuals and (b) businesses in Warrington on fracking; and whether any applications for exploratory fracking in Warrington were received prior to that statement.

Claire Perry: The Department routinely receives large volumes of correspondence from a wide range of organisations and individuals regarding shale gas exploration and production. We have not received any representations from either individuals or business in Warrington relating to the Written Ministerial Statement of 17 May. The Oil and Gas Authority have received no applications to conduct hydraulic fracturing activities for either exploration or development in Warrington prior to (or since) the Written Ministerial Statement of 17 May.

Cancer: Diagnosis

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Prime Minister’s speech on science and modern Industrial Strategy of 21 May 2018, if he will place in the Library the methodology used to calculate (a) that smart technologies will lead to the earlier diagnosis of 50,000 more people a year with lung, bowel prostate or ovarian cancer, and (b) that this combined with the great treatment and care provided by our NHS will mean 22,000 fewer people will die within five years of their diagnosis compared to today.

Mr Sam Gyimah: In order to produce the Early Diagnosis Mission, the Government worked closely with a range of experts on a variety of diseases to define its scope and identify its potential impacts. The numbers referenced convey the potential impacts of integrating artificial intelligence and data technologies with respect to the four types of cancer you mentioned and were made available thanks to the work and methodology of Cancer Research UK.

Parental Leave: Grandparents

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will implement extended shared parental leave to grandparents.

Andrew Griffiths: We are currently evaluating the Shared Parental Leave and Pay schemes. This will look at the take up of leave and pay, barriers to take-up, and how Shared Parental Leave and Pay are being used in practice. The evaluation will improve the evidence base and inform future policy development in this area.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Written Questions

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to Question 146333 of 22 May 2018 on whether his Department has held discussions with and received representations from Chinese organisations on opening a campus at Foxcombe hall in Oxfordshire, for what reasons his Department transferred that Question for answer to the Department for International Trade.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The question was transferred to the Department for International Trade because it was interpreted as relating to their role in transnational education. Neither the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy or the Department for Education have had discussions with or received representations from Peking University HSBC Business School or authorities in China on proposals to open a campus at Foxcombe Hall in Oxfordshire.

Solar Power: EU External Trade

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect of EU tariffs on the development of the solar technology sector in the UK.

Claire Perry: The Department has not made a recent assessment of the effect of EU tariffs on the development of the solar technology sector in the UK. The European Commission revised these tariffs in September 2017 following a review of evidence provided by stakeholders and Member States. The Department for International Trade (DIT) represented the UK during this review and they have also recently conducted a Call for Evidence to identify UK interest in existing EU trade remedy measures. This Call for Evidence has now closed and DIT are currently considering the responses they have received.

Nuclear Power Stations: Construction

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 27 April to Question 136690, if he will set out the range of possible financing structures that are currently being considered for financing new nuclear.

Richard Harrington: As stated in the Government’s response to the Public Accounts Committee Inquiry into Hinkley Point C dated 28th January 2018, the Government will assess the cost and risk implications of a range of possible financing structures. Ministers will consider this range of optionswhen deciding whether and how to proceed with future new nuclear projects. Discussions with developers are commercially sensitive and no final decisions have been made.

Nuclear Power Stations: Construction

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 27 April 2018 to Question 136695, which the new build developers and counterparts are in the UK and overseas with whom the Government engages on new nuclear.

Richard Harrington: Government regularly engages with a number of new build developers on a range of issues relevant to delivering new nuclear projects.

Nuclear Power Stations: Construction

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 1 May 2018 to Question 136931, if he will take steps to ensure that all value for money assessments that his Department carries out for new nuclear projects are completed before any deals for such projects are signed; and if he will ensure that those assessments are made public and available to Parliament.

Richard Harrington: The Government will ensure that appropriate value for money assessments are completed before any final deal on a new nuclear project is signed. The Government is committed to transparent, open policy making, and will consider releasing future publications at the appropriate time.

New Businesses

Luke Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to promote entrepreneurship and start-ups by means of the Government's Industrial Strategy.

Andrew Griffiths: Our Industrial Strategy sets out our aim to make Britain the best place in the world to start and grow a business. We are ranked top 10 in the world for doing business by the World Economic Forum and World Bank and amongst the very best in Europe. But as the Patient Capital Review identified, we could do better in the longer-term process of building up successful businesses to reach large-scale and as the Scale-Up Taskforce has highlighted, more can be done to increase the number of businesses that achieve their full potential.   So as part of the Industrial Strategy, we have an action plan to unlock over £20bn of investment in high potential businesses, including through establishing a new £2.5bn Patient Capital investment fund incubated within the Government owned British Business Bank (BBB). The BBB, through its Start Up Loans programme, has lent over £410m to more than 55,000 entrepreneurs across the UK to start their own businesses. The New Enterprise Allowance Scheme from the Department of Work and Pensions also provides money and support to help people receiving certain benefits to start their own business. Through the Industrial Strategy we are continuing to invest in 38 Growth Hubs across England alongside the Business Support Helpline. Business support is devolved to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. All businesses can access core services, information and guidance on starting up and running a business, as well as their statutory rights and obligations, on GOV.UK. More widely, the Small Business Commissioner has been launched with the purpose to assist small businesses to prevent and resolve late payment issues with their larger business customers. And we are opening up public procurement to SMEs, with a commitment to one pound in every three of central government procurement spend going to SMEs by (directly or via the supply chain) 2022. We will also drive change through the biggest increase in public investment in R&D in our history, raising total R&D investment to 2.4% of GDP by 2027. Finally, we will support businesses to access international markets. This means driving up exports by the Government and private sector including identifying smaller businesses with the potential to succeed and grow as exporters.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Chief Scientific Advisers

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many meetings he had with his Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser between 1 January and 31 March 2018.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Between 1 January 2018 and 31st March 2018, my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) met with the Chief Scientific Adviser for BEIS five times in person.

Aviation: Enterprise Zones

Sir Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which aerodromes are located within the Enterprise Zones.

Andrew Griffiths: There are six Enterprise Zones in England that include active public aerodromes: Aerohub+ (Newquay Airport); Blackpool Airport; Heart of the South West (Exeter Airport); Luton Airport; North Kent (Rochester Airport); and Solent (Solent Airport). There are a further three Enterprise Zones in England with large sites in close proximity to an active public aerodrome but not within its’ operational boundary. This includes: Humber (Humberside Airport); Manchester Airport (Manchester Airport) and North East Round 2 (Newcastle Airport). The Lancashire Enterprise Zone also includes sites within the boundaries of the privately operated Warton aerodrome.

Office for Product Safety and Standards: Powers

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what powers he plans the Office for Product Safety and Standards to have to compel companies to issue recalls.

Andrew Griffiths: The Office for Product Safety and Standards, by virtue of my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State’s powers, already has the power under Regulation 15 of the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 to issue a recall notice where it is necessary to do so.

Office for Product Safety and Standards: Powers

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what regulatory powers the Office for Product Safety and Standards has.

Andrew Griffiths: The Office for Product Safety and Standards currently has access to my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State’s powers under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005, including to require information for the purposes of deciding whether to issue a safety notice, to issue warning notices and to issue recall notices. The Government will be consulting in due course on options for further powers for the Office.

Consumer Goods: Safety

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department plans to take to increase public awareness of the Government’s product recall website; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Griffiths: The website is currently being enhanced to make it clearer and easier to use, and the Government will work with a wide range of stakeholders to maximise awareness of the upgraded site.

Lighting: EU Action

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations his Department made to the European Commission on the effect of the proposed EU Lighting Regulation 2020 to replace EU1194/2012 and associated regulation under the Ecodesign Working Plan 2016-19, on the use of different types stage lighting across the creative industries.

Claire Perry: Officials from the Department attended the EU consultation forum in December 2017, the most recent discussion of this issue in Brussels, to discuss the latest Ecodesign lighting proposals. The Department has subsequently made representations to the European Commission in writing and in person to discuss the issue of stage lighting and potential solutions. I understand that representatives from the industry have also met with the Commission and will be drafting an alternative proposal for stage lighting for their consideration. It should be noted that this is only a proposal at this stage and remains open for discussion, with a final decision on the draft regulation likely to be made towards the end of the year. We will continue to engage with both industry and the European Commission in the meantime.

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the Offshore Wind Industry Council’s proposals for a sector deal between Government and that industry up to 2030.

Claire Perry: I recently met members of the Offshore Wind Industry Council to discuss their proposal for a sector deal. BEIS officials have been in discussions with the sector over recent months and have had engagement with relevant departments across Government as well as the Devolved Administrations on the sector’s proposals.

Motor Vehicles: Manufacturing Industries

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many people are employed in the automotive industry in the (a) the Warley constituency and (b) Borough of Sandwell.

Richard Harrington: According to the Business Registers and Employment Survey in 2016 there were around 100 employed in the automotive industry in Warley and around 2000 in Sandwell.

Retail Trade

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to announce a retail sector deal as part of his industrial strategy.

Andrew Griffiths: The Government is committed to working with any sector that can self-organise behind strong leadership, offer a compelling case for sector specific action, and set out clear proposals to transform their sector via a sector deal. The Government is open to sector deal proposals and encourages the retail sector to come forward with ideas. We want to see the retail sector thrive and to do so we work closely with a range of retailers and retail associations. In March we established the Retail Sector Council to bring Government and industry together to share best practice and boost the sector’s productivity and economic health. On 7 June, my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I will be hosting a roundtable with Retail CEOs and look forward to hearing their latest thoughts.

Retail Trade: Trade Unions

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what meetings he has held with trade union representatives of retail workers in 2018.

Andrew Griffiths: The Government regularly engages with retailers and their trade unions. Since the start of this year, my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has met with representatives of Unite and the Trades Union Congress (TUC). In addition, John Hannett, General Secretary of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) is a member of the Retail Sector Council which I co-chair with Richard Pennycook. The Retail Sector Council is a key forum for engagement between Government and industry and met for the first time in March. Sector Council members are working together to share best practice and boost the sector’s productivity and economic health.

Retail Sector Council

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish the (a) dates, (b) attendees and (c) minutes of all Retail Sector Council meetings since its inception.

Andrew Griffiths: The first meeting of the Retail Sector Council was held on the 22nd March 2018, with the second meeting due to be held on the 25th June 2018. The following members attended the March meeting: Amazon, Asos, Association of Convenience Stores, Boots, British Retail Consortium, GFirst LEP, Keelham Farm Shop, and the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW). I co-chaired the meeting with Richard Pennycook, Chairman of Fenwick, The Hut Group and Howden Joinery Group. Senior officials from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy were also in attendance. A full list of members can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/industry-led-retail-sector-council-launched-to-act-as-champion-for-future-growth The Council are currently in the process of establishing a website which will contain a summary of each Retail Sector Council meeting.

Pensioners: Warm Home Discount Scheme

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of whether some pensioners are missing out on the Warm Home Discount Scheme as a result of being customers of a supplier with fewer than 250,000 customers.

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of people eligible for the Warm Home Discount Scheme who will not receive that discount in 2018-19 because they are customers of an energy supplier with fewer than 250,000 customers.

Claire Perry: Energy suppliers that are obligated to participate in the Warm Home Discount scheme cover 94% of the market for domestic customers. Suppliers that are not obligated under the scheme can volunteer to provide rebates to the Core Group. Last winter, three suppliers volunteered under the scheme. We estimate that the number of pensioners beyond those 18 suppliers that would have been automatically eligible for Warm Home Discount last winter under the Core Group is roughly 60,000, of the roughly 1.4 million Pension Credit Guaranteed Credit recipients who would be automatically eligible if they held an account with a participating supplier. There is a set spending envelope for Warm Home Discount and increasing the number of obligated suppliers would not in itself increase the number of households receiving the rebate. We have recently completed a consultation on the next phase of Warm Home Discount, including the obligation thresholds, and are currently reviewing the responses.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Councillors: Females

Jim McMahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of female councillors in England.

Jake Berry: I met with the Fawcett Society and representitivesof the Local Government association on 23 May. This was a very constructive discussion and we identified a number of areas to explore further. i am keen to keep that dialogue going and to keep working together to tackle this issue.

Second Homes: Holiday Accommodation

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of second homes in (a) each local authority and (b) England which (i) are and (ii) have been registered as holiday lets for which small business rate relief is claimed; and the amount of tax revenue that has been foregone through that provision.

Rishi Sunak: Second homes are ordinarily domestic properties and therefore liable for council tax, rather than non-domestic rates. We do not collect data on the number of holiday properties that are registered for, or receive, Small Business Rate Relief. Decisions on whether a property qualifies for Small Business Rate Relief rests with local councils.

Second Homes: Non-domestic Rates

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to increase the minimum number of letting days to for a property to be eligible for small business rate relief.

Rishi Sunak: As I told the House on 15 May 2018, the Department is looking at the issue of non-domestic rates potentially applying to second homes and such properties then qualifying for Small Business Rate Relief.

Tenants' Rights

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department is available to (a) tenants and (b) landlords on the right of tenants to have a smart meter installed under a tenancy contract.

James Brokenshire: The Department has published the “How to Rent” guide for tenants which sets out their rights and responsibilities when renting a property, including advice on what to do if something goes wrong during the tenancy. Whether or not a tenant has the right to install a smart meter will normally depend on the terms and conditions set out in their tenancy agreement

Defence Fire and Rescue Service

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Defence on the effect on local authority Fire and Rescue services of the Ministry of Defence's proposals to contract-out the Defence Fire and Rescue Service.

Dominic Raab: There have been no recent discussions between Ministers in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Secretary of State for Defence on the effect on local authority Fire and Rescue services of the Ministry of Defence's proposals to contract-out the Defence Fire and Rescue Service. Responsibility for fire and rescue policy rests with the Home Office.

Unitary Councils: Reorganisation

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many and which local authorities are engaged in discussions with his Department on reorganisation from a two-tier structure to unitary status.

Rishi Sunak: Ministers and officials regularly have discussions with many local authorities about a wide range of issues, which may include reorganisation from a two tier structure to unitary status.In particular there have been discussions with councils in Buckinghamshire, Dorset and Oxfordshire, where proposals for unitarisation have been submitted, and with councils in Northamptonshire which have been invited to make unitary proposals.

Private Education: Non-domestic Rates

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many independent schools received business rates relief in 2017-18.

Rishi Sunak: The Department does not hold information on the number of business rates reliefs recipients by type of property.

Local Government: Land

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many local authorities sold public land to companies based in overseas territories in (a) 2015-16 & (b) 2016-17.

Dominic Raab: The Government does not collect information relating to the bodies or organisations to which local authorities dispose of their land.

Council Tax: Armed Forces

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the total value of the class P council tax exemption was in 2016-17.

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the total value of the class V council tax exemption was in 2016-17.

Peter Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the total value of the class H council tax exemption was in 2016-17.

Rishi Sunak: Data on the total value of council tax exemptions is not collected by the Department.

Council Tax Reduction Schemes: Disability

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many severely mentally impaired discounts have been given by each local authority in England (a) in total and (b) per head of head of population in each of the last three years.

Rishi Sunak: A Class U exemption from council tax is given where a dwelling is occupied only by a person, or persons, who is or are severely mentally impaired and would otherwise be liable to pay the council tax or is occupied only by one or more severely mentally impaired persons and one or more students, students' foreign spouses and school or college leavers.The number of Class U exemptions for council tax given by each local authority in the past three years can be found in the following links2017: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/679743/LA_Drop_down_2017_web__rev_.xlsx2016: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/587691/LA_Drop_down_-_revised_Jan.xlsx2015: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/505139/CTB_Form_October_2015-_drop_down_-_revised_Feb_2016.xlsxAs the figures are given for the number of dwellings, it is not appropriate to calculate it on a per head basis.

EU Grants and Loans

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what account the Government plans to take of regional and national inequalities when resources from the Shared Prosperity Fund are being allocated.

Jake Berry: The Government continues to develop the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. We recognise the experience of the Devolved Administrations in delivering European funding and will want to hear their views on how the UK Shared Prosperity Fund works across all four nations, including the way in which it will tackle inequalities. We will consult on the new fund later this year, as committed in the Industrial Strategy.

Housing: Construction Methods

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to develop a robust understanding of modern methods of construction performance under fire, flood, escape of water and other events.

James Brokenshire: The Department continues to work with industry, including through the Building Regulations Advisory Committee, to develop its understanding of the implications of modern methods of construction for Building Regulations’ requirements.

Housing: Construction Methods

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent research his Department has carried out on the risks associated with properties built using modern methods of construction.

Dominic Raab: The Department has undertaken research into modern methods of construction but not specifically about associated risks. Research into particular topics may include consideration of modern methods of construction if relevant to the subject of the research. The Department is aware of work by the industry on this issue, for example, the NHBC Foundation published last year a Guide to Modern Methods of Construction and it can be found here: https://www.nhbcfoundation.org/publication/a-guide-to-modern-methods-of-construction/

Housing: Construction Methods

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how his Department plans to ensure that risks associated with properties built using modern methods of construction are fully considered in the design, construction and inhabitation phases of the lifecycle of such properties.

James Brokenshire: New buildings constructed using modern methods of construction must comply with Building Regulations’ requirements. These are written in performance terms to allow for different methods of construction. The developer is responsible for ensuring compliance with Building Regulations. The independent review of Building Regulations and fire safety has made a series of recommendations about the regulatory system. The Government supports the principles behind those recommendations and will set out in the Autumn how it intends to implement the new regulatory system.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Staff

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many full-time equivalent employees his Department (a) has employed in each financial year since 2009-10 (b) is forecast to employ in each financial year until 2020-21 by departmental directorate.

James Brokenshire: Due to internal changes and restructuring during the time period in question, there is no comparable data available at departmental directorate level. However, the number of full time equivalent employees in my Department in each year since 2010 was as follows:2009-10 – 2108.72010-11 – 1934.12011-12 – 1821.62012-13 – 1680.92013-14 – 1622.02014-15 – 1595.72015-16 – 1651.52016-17 – 1410.62017-18 – 1672.3We have a forecast figure for 2018-19 of 2002.7 full time equivalent staff but do not have forecast figures for future years at this point in time.

Affordable Housing: Construction

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the additional £2 billion in affordable housing funding announced on 4 October 2017 has been allocated.

James Brokenshire: At Spring Statement 2018 the Chancellor announced an additional £1.67 billion for the GLA to deliver an additional 26,000 affordable homes in London, bringing the total affordable housing budget for London to £4.8 billion to deliver 116,000 over six years. The approach to the remaining money in the programme will be announced shortly.

Leasehold

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many new homes have been sold on a leasehold basis in north-east England in each year since 2010.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: There have been 6,000 newly built homes sold on a leasehold basis in the North East between 2010 and 2016, averaging 867 per year.This compares to over 22,000 newly built homes sold on a freehold basis over the same period.

Leasehold: Service Charges

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has in place to tackle unfair service charges in the leasehold property sector.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: We believe very strongly that service charges should be transparent, communicated effectively and that there should be a clear route to challenge or redress if things go wrong. That is why on 1 April, we published the response to our recent call for evidence on ‘Protecting consumers in the letting and managing agent market’. Here proposals include establishing a working group to consider how fees such as service charges should be presented to consumers and to explore the best means to challenge fees which are unjustified. As part of this work, consideration will also be given to standards around service charges and how to include them in a statutory code of practice.

Landlords

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many banning orders for landlords were (a) issued and (b) accepted in each nation and region of the UK in each of the last five years.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The regulations made under the Housing and Planning Act 2016 introduced banning orders for private landlords and property agents who have been convicted of serious housing, immigration and other criminal offences. The regulations came into force on 6 April 2018 and apply to England only.A relevant offence must have been committed on or after 6 April 2018 for a local housing authority to be permitted to apply for a banning order. A notice of intent must be made by the local authority within 6 months of the landlord being convicted of the offence followed by an application to the First Tier Tribunal which has the power to issue the banning order.To date no banning orders have been made by the First Tier Tribunal.

Housing Associations: Rents

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of housing associations which request upfront payment of rent in advance before an offered tenancy can be secured.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Department does not hold this data. We understand that many landlords ask for rent in advance and it is part of the agreement between individual tenant and landlord. As responsible companies with a social purpose we expect housing associations to let their homes in a fair, transparent and efficient way that takes into account the housing needs of tenants and potential tenants.

Leasehold: Ground Rent

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what specific steps his Department has taken to protect leaseholders from being charged excessive ground rent in the last six months.

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to prevent unreasonable increases in ground rents on existing leasehold properties.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: Since the Government’s announcement on 21 December 2017 to limit new leases to a peppercorn rent, my Department has been engaging with a range of stakeholders as part of developing a detailed approach to implementing this policy.In addition, the Government wants to see developers and investors going further to help existing consumers with onerous ground rents, including second hand buyers, and for customers to be proactively contacted. The previous Secretary of State wrote to developers about this matter, and we are monitoring the situation. We are working with stakeholders to reach out to those individuals continuing to be affected by onerous ground rents to help establish what further steps might be needed.In addition, the Law Commission’s 13th Programme of Law Reform was published on 14 December 2017, and includes a project on Unfair Terms in Leasehold. The Law Commission has made an announcement on its work with the Department at: https://www.lawcom.gov.uk/project/residential-leasehold-and-commonhold/We will make further announcements in due course, and bring forward legislation at the earliest opportunity.

Fire Prevention

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what criteria will be used to determine which local authorities receive the a proportion of the £400 million to support fire safety initiatives.

Dominic Raab: We want to get funding to local authorities and housing associations as soon as possible, so that they can focus on the job of making their buildings safe. We will announce more details shortly about how councils and housing associations can apply for funding, including conditions attached to the grant.

Private Rented Housing: Electrical Safety

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what representations his Department has received in opposition to mandatory electrical safety checks in the private rented sector.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Department held a consultation exercise between 17 February 2018 and 16 April 2018 on electrical safety in the private rented sector. We received 582 responses which are currently being analysed and expect to publish the Government’s response in the Autumn.

Private Rented Housing: Electrical Safety

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what representations his Department has received from local authorities regarding mandatory electrical safety checks in the private rented sector.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Department received a total of 582 responses to the recent consultation on electrical safety in the private rented sector, of which 45 were from local authorities.

Antisemitism

Tom Pursglove: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government,  assessment he has made of recent trends in anti-semitic hate crime.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Government condemns all forms of hate crime including antisemitism. Nobody should be attacked because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or disability. In July 2016, we published Action Against Hate: The UK Government’s Plan for Tackling Hate Crime, which we will be refreshing this year. We work closely with the police and the Community Security Trust (CST), who are members of the Cross Government Working Group on Tackling Antisemitism, alongside other Jewish stakeholders. In their recent report, the CST recorded 1,382 antisemitic incidents reported across the UK in the 2017, a 3 per cent increase from the 1,346 incidents recorded during 2016. Individual police forces collate and analyse intelligence on the number of antisemitic incidents, in order to inform local operational decisions and to provide adequate protection at times of demand. The National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) analyses this intelligence to inform forces of any emerging challenges.

Ministry of Defence

Defence Fire and Rescue Service

Ruth Smeeth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to announce the outcome of the Defence Fire and Rescue Project.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: An announcement about the outcome of the project will be made in due course.

Defence Fire and Rescue Service

Ruth Smeeth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the service specifications included in the proposed contract for the Defence Fire and Rescue Project.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The service requirements are part of an ongoing commercial process and cannot be published at this time. Releasable elements of the requirements are published in the contract documentation which Government procurement transparency rules require to be published following a contract award. These rules would apply to any future contract award in relation to the Defence Fire and Rescue Project.

Armed Forces: Housing

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to guarantee the state subsidy of rent to tenants in Service Family Accomodation after 2021 notwithstanding the outcome of negotiations with Annington.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 16 May 2018 to Question 143233.



143233 - WQnA extract on Armed Forces Housing
(Word Document, 25.05 KB)

United Nations: Peacekeeping Operations

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent in respect of UN peacekeeping in each of the last five years.

Mark Lancaster: In common with other operations, the costs of UK Armed Forces' contributions to UN peacekeeping operations are calculated on a net additional basis; i.e. based on those costs over and above existing funding that the Department would not have incurred but for undertaking the activity. The annual cost of our contribution in Cyprus was £17.8 million per year up to and including financial year 2016-17. The cost of contributions in South Sudan and Somalia in financial year 2016-17 (the first year of activity) was £10.4 million and £5.2 million respectively.

Army: Young People

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2018 to Question 120931, what progress is being made on the Army’s review of Junior Entry.

Mark Lancaster: The Army review into Junior Entry continues to make progress. It remains the intent that publication will be considered as part of the presentation of the review, and its findings, to Ministers.

Army Foundation College

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information students have to provide when they sign up to attend AFC Harrogate.

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether students at AFC Harrogate have to provide their residential address when joining AFC Harrogate.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Information initially captured during the Army recruitment process is the same for all candidates and includes: full name, date of birth, postal address, email/phone number and nationality.Subsequently further data will include: ethnicity, gender, medical information, relevant education qualifications, marital status, next of kin, previous military experience, bank details, passport details, national insurance numbers, care order and specific career interests.For potential junior entrants there is an additional requirement for signed parental/guardian consent allowing the candidate to take part in the recruiting process, outreach and development activity, and to enlist in the Army.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with his US counterpart on clearing UK sites to hold software relating to F-35.

Guto Bebb: The Ministry of Defence has regular discussions with the US F-35 Joint Program Office on all aspects of the F-35 programme to ensure that the UK is ready to receive its F-35 aircraft. The UK is fully equipped to safely and securely hold software relating to the F-35.

United Nations: Peacekeeping Operations

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what equipment the UK has supplied to be used in UN peacekeeping operations in each of the last five years.

Mark Lancaster: The UK, as a Troop Contributing Country (TCC) on UN peacekeeping missions, does not supply equipment to the UN. Each TCC is required to provide the equipment needed to undertake its tasks - in accordance with the UN's requirements.

Qatar: Military Aid

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's press release, Defence Minister reveals new RAF Squadron at Qatar event, published on 14 December 2017, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) pilots and (b) ground crew from the Qatari Emiri Air Force that will be temporarily integrated into Number 12 Squadron RAF each year.

Mark Lancaster: This is still subject to ongoing discussion and agreement between the Ministry of Defence and Qatar.

Ministry of Defence Police: Complaints

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether a service complaint can be made in respect of the adequacy of an investigation undertaken by the service police.

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what specialist resources and training the Service Complaints Ombudsman receives to assist her in considering service complaints relating to the conduct of the service police.

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing oversight of the service police by the Independent Office of Police Complaints.

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with the Service Complaints Ombudsman on her capacity to discharge an effective and independent oversight role of the service police; and what the outcome of such discussions was.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: A Service complaint can be made in respect of any matter relating to a Service person's service in the Armed Forces, where the complaint is made within three months of the event and the subject is not an Excluded Matter as set out in regulations made under section 340A of the Armed Forces Act 2006.The role of the Service Complaints Ombudsman is to review the process under which complaints have been handled and decisions reached. In many cases, complaints are resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant without recourse to the Ombudsman's office.The investigations are overseen by the Service Complaints Ombudsman but usually are carried out by one of her trained investigators. All the Ombudsman's investigators receive professional, accredited training in investigating complaints and complaints handling.The Independent Office of Police Complaints does not currently have the international jurisdiction required to provide oversight of the Service Police. Ministers and officials in the Ministry of Defence have regular discussions with the Service Complaints Ombudsman on all aspects of her current role. These discussions are ongoing.

Military Aid

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for which foreign states the UK's armed forces provide training; and which services provide training for each those states.

Mark Lancaster: The table below sets out the foreign states that were provided training by each Service of the UK military in financial year 2017-18.ArmyRoyal NavyRoyal Air ForceJoint Forces CommandAfghanistanAlbaniaAlbaniaAfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAustraliaAlbaniaAlgeriaAngolaBahrainAlgeriaArmeniaAnguillaBelgiumArgentinaAustraliaAntigua and BarbudaBosniaArmeniaAustriaAustraliaBrazilAustraliaAzerbaijanAzerbaijanBruneiAzerbaijanBahrainBahamas, TheCanadaBahamasBangladeshBahrainChinaBahrainBarbadosBangladeshCzech RepublicBangladeshBelarusBarbadosDenmarkBarbadosBelgiumBelgiumDominican RepublicBelarusBelizeBelizeEgyptBelgiumBermudaBosniaEstoniaBelizeBosnia and HerzegovinaBrazilFranceBermudaBotswanaBulgariaGermanyBosnia and HerzegovinaBrazilCanadaHong KongBotswanaBruneiChileIndiaBrazilCameroonCroatiaIraqBruneiCanadaDenmarkItalyBurmaChileDjiboutiJamaicaCameroonChinaDominican RepublicJordanCanadaColombiaEgyptKenyaChileCzech RepublicEstoniaKosovoChinaDenmarkFijiKuwaitColombiaDominican RepublicFranceLatviaCyprusEgyptGeorgiaLithuaniaCzech RepublicEritreaGermanyMacedoniaDenmarkEstoniaGhanaMaltaEast TimorEthiopiaGreeceMalawiEgyptFinlandGuyanaNetherlandsEstoniaFranceIndiaNigeriaFijiGambiaIndonesiaNorwayFinlandGeorgiaIraqNew ZealandFranceGermanyIrelandOmanGambiaGhanaIvory CoastPakistanGeorgiaGreeceJamaicaPhilippinesGermanyGuyanaJordanQatarGhanaIcelandKenyaSaudi ArabiaGreeceIndiaKuwaitSerbiaGuatemalaIndonesiaLebanonSeychellesGuyanaIraqMacedoniaSingaporeIcelandIrelandMalaysiaSwedenIndiaIsraelMaltaTrinidad and TobagoIndonesiaItalyMexicoTunisiaIraqIvory CoastMontenegroUnited Arab EmiratesIrelandJamaicaNetherlandsUkraineIsraelJapanNew ZealandUnited StatesItalyJordanNigeriaZambiaJamaicaKazakhstanNorway JapanKenyaOman JordanKosovoPakistan KazakhstanKuwaitPhilippines KenyaKyrgyzstanPortugal KosovoLatviaQatar KuwaitLebanonRomania KyrgyzstanLithuaniaSaudi Arabia LebanonMacedoniaSenegal MacedoniaMalawiSeychelles MalaysiaMalaysiaSierra Leone MaliMaltaSingapore MaltaMexicoSlovenia MexicoMontenegroSomalia (Somaliland) MoldovaMoroccoSri Lanka MontenegroNepalTanzania NepalNetherlandsThailand NetherlandsNew ZealandTonga New ZealandNigeriaTrinidad and Tobago NigerNorwayUganda NigeriaOmanUkraine NorwayPakistanUnited Arab Emirates OmanPalestinian Autonomous AreasUnited States PakistanPapua New GuineaVietnam Palestinian Autonomous AreasParaguay  Papua New GuineaPhilippines  PhilippinesPortugal  QatarQatar  RwandaRomania  Saudi ArabiaRwanda  SenegalSaudi Arabia  SerbiaSerbia  SeychellesSierra Leone  Sierra LeoneSingapore  SingaporeSlovakia SomaliaSloveniaSouth AfricaSomalia  South KoreaSouth Africa  SpainSouth Korea  Sri LankaSpain  SudanSri Lanka  SwedenSudan  SwitzerlandSweden  ThailandSwitzerland  TongaTajikistan  Trinidad and TobagoTanzania  TunisiaThailand TurkeyTrinidad and Tobago UgandaTunisia UkraineTurkey United Arab EmiratesUganda United StatesUkraine UzbekistanUnited Arab Emirates VietnamUnited States ZambiaUruguay  Uzbekistan  Vietnam Zambia Zimbabwe

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Procurement

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many contractors currently employed by his Department are paid £1,000 or more per day.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not employ any contractors as part of its workforce.

Department for International Trade

Overseas Trade

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent progress each of the trade and investment working groups in his Department have made on the UK's future trade relationships with other countries.

Greg Hands: We have announced several working groups to explore the best ways of progressing our trade and investment relationships. Individual announcements and statements on the progress of working groups will continue to be made available on the department’s website, as and when appropriate.

Shanker Singham

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what meetings Crawford Falconer, Chief Trade Negotiation Adviser and Second Permanent Secretary for the Department for International Trade has had with Shanker Singham since his appointment to the Department.

Graham Stuart: I refer the Hon. Member for Sheffield Central to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Hemsworth on 31 May 2017, UIN 146742 & 146743.

Legatum Institute

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what meetings (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department, (c) advisers in his Department and (d) officials in his Department have held with representatives of the Legatum Institute since July 2016; and what the topics for discussion were at those meetings.

Greg Hands: I refer the Hon. Member for Sheffield Central to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Birmingham, Hall Green on 26 April 2018, UIN: 137004 and the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne North on 3 May 2018, UIN: 139483.Details of the meetings held by the Department for International Trade (DIT) Ministers are published on the Gov.uk website and can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=department-for-international-trade&publication_type=transparency-data

Shanker Singham

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many meetings Crawford Falconer, Chief Trade Negotiation Adviser and Second Permanent Secretary for the Department for International Trade, has had with the policy adviser Shanker Singham since July 2017.

Graham Stuart: I refer the Hon. Member for Hemsworth to the answer I gave him on 31 May 2017, UIN 146742 & 146743.

Overseas Trade: Commonwealth

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what targets the Government has set for increased trade with Commonwealth countries after the United Kingdom leaves the European Union.

Graham Stuart: Department for International Trade indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Overseas Trade

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what consideration he has given to using a human trafficking risk index in order to support a sustainable trade agenda that removes modern-day slavery practices in global supply chains.

Greg Hands: The UK is committed to working with international partners and businesses to tackle modern slavery in global supply chains. It is vital that increased trade is not based on the exploitation and abuse of workers. The whole of government is considering what further steps we may be able to take, to prevent modern slavery, through our policy development.

EU Trade

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, for what reasons the Government voted against the proposed Modernisation of Trade Defence Instruments in the EU Council on 16 April 2018.

Greg Hands: The Government voted against the EU Modernisation of Trade Defence Instruments due to the proposed restrictions to the Lesser Duty Rule. The Lesser Duty Rule provides producers with robust and proportionate protections they need against unfair trade from dumped and subsidised imports, but without imposing punitive measures that could harm downstream users or consumers. Our view is that the Lesser Duty Rule helps to balance the interests of all and that limiting it will mean increased costs, with no evidence of benefits.

Department for International Trade: Staff

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many staff were (a) employed by and (b) seconded to his Department at May (i) 2017 and (ii) 2018.

Greg Hands: Department for International Trade indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Women and Equalities

Menstrual Hygiene Day

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether her Department plans to promote menstrual hygiene day on 28 May.

Victoria Atkins: This Government supports a wide range of policies to remove inequalities related to gender. However, the Government Equalities Office does not lead on health related issues and is not promoting Menstrual Hygiene Day or organising events related to it.

Department for Transport

Diesel Trains: Exhaust Emissions

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government has carried out any assessment of the effect of emissions from older diesel locomotives on public health.

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential effects on cleanliness of engines of retrofitting cleaner diesel engines into older trains and locomotives.

Joseph Johnson: Holding answer received on 30 May 2018



While the rail sector as a whole is a relatively minor contributor to overall levels of outdoor air pollution, emissions from older diesel trains can contribute to local air quality issues. In February 2018, the Government challenged the rail industry to phase out diesel only trains by 2040. New diesel rolling stock, including those commissioned for the Greater Anglia, Trans-Pennine, Northern and West Midlands franchises, are required to meet the latest emissions standards. This will replace the oldest trains, built in the 1980s, on the network. Overall this will significantly reduce pollution from the sector.

M6

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential (a) employment and (b) economic benefits of transport infrastructure improvements to Junction 23 of the M6 Motorway.

Jesse Norman: £4.1m was invested to improve this junction in 2015, and the M6 through it will be upgraded at this point to smart motorway standard under the current road investment strategy. Highways England’s London to Scotland West route strategy identified this junction as a “potential future pinch point where congestion could inhibit future economic growth” and Highways England will revisit this assessment when it next reviews its route strategies.

Southern Rail: Greater London

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with representatives of Southern Rail on the effect of the May 2018 timetable changes on commuters travelling across south west London.

Joseph Johnson: The new timetable across Southern commenced on Sunday 20 May and there have been wholly unsatisfactory levels of disruption on those rail services since then. A combination of delayed Network Rail infrastructure works and reduced time to plan a modified timetable meant that the new timetable was finalised much too late to permit adequate logistical planning for the timetable changes. I am determined both that the problems are dealt with as quickly as possible, and that this is not repeated in the future. We have been in regular contact with the leadership of Network Rail and GTR since the new timetable was introduced, and I and the Secretary of State continue to monitor the situation closely. We are speaking to those involved on a daily basis and we have insisted that both organisations put whatever resource they need to into resolving the situation, and in making sure that there is proper leadership of the recovery effort. Once these problems are resolved, we will have a much better service for passengers. That is small comfort at the moment when things are not working as they should, but once we are through this difficult period we will have a better railway, with more frequent and better connected journeys for passengers across the Southern Metro routes, including the Wimbledon loop and the West London line.

Bus Services: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much money was spent from the public purse on subsidised bus routes in Warrington in each year since  2010.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Up until 31 December 2013 Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) was paid directly to bus operators and wasn’t split between commercially run or subsidised bus services. We are therefore unable to provide figures for this period. From 1 January 2014 local authorities have received funding equivalent to the level of BSOG which would otherwise have been paid to operators for running subsidised services. Details of the amounts paid to local authorities each year can be found on the “Payments to Local Authorities” tab on the relevant spreadsheets published on the .gov website.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 May 2018 to Question 145409 on High Speed 2 Railway Line: Manchester Airport, how many other High Speed Two rail stations will receive funding from (a) local authorities and (b) local interest groups.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: There are several examples of third party funding being provided towards the costs of High Speed Two stations, including towards local connectivity, the details of which are under discussion and therefore commercially sensitive. A station in the Manchester Airport area was included as part of the proposed High Speed Two route only when it was petitioned for by Greater Manchester (Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Manchester Airports Group and other local partners), and only on the basis of the local funding offer they made, in recognition of the benefits that a second High Speed Two station in Manchester would bring to the local area.

Aircraft: Noise

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on reducing the impact on residents from aircraft noise.

Jesse Norman: In the last year the Department for Transport has published policy decisions on night flight restrictions at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted and a new framework on airspace policy which includes an improved appraisal framework for assessing noise impacts. The Department for Health and Social Care was consulted on these policy decisions.

East Coast Rail Franchise

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department has spent on (a) advisers, (b) consultants and (c) lawyers in respect of the East Coast franchise since the Strategic Vision for Rail was announced in November 2017.

Joseph Johnson: Since November 2017 the Department has paid approx. £4.9m across advisors, consultants and lawyers, to establish two viable options with the majority being an OLR expense. The cost is more than covered by the £21m performance bond to be paid by Virgin Trains East Coast.

Railways: Disability

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether a train operator has an obligation under its Disabled People’s Protection Policy to ensure that ramps which are fit for purpose are made available to facilitate the boarding or leaving of a train by wheelchair users whether assistance has been booked in advance or not.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The provision of manual boarding ramps for access and egress to a passenger train is mandatory for regulated rail vehicles where the step/gap between the train and the platform is greater than the permitted maximums. As a condition of an operator’s licence, a train company must publish a Disabled People’s Protection Policy (DPPP), which is approved by the Office of Rail and Roads. The DPPP must demonstrate commitments to provide assistance to disabled passengers who need a ramp, booked in advance and not.

Horses: Accidents

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to allow owners to horses make a claim against drivers when that horse is injured or killed by a vehicle.

Jesse Norman: A horse owner whose horse has been injured or killed by a vehicle following a road traffic collision is already able to claim against the responsible driver and the driver’s insurer.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the rail journey time between Manchester and Glasgow will change once High Speed 2 is operational.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: We have no reason to expect that journey times between Manchester and Glasgow will be affected by HS2, as HS2 is not planned to serve the Manchester-Glasgow route.

High Speed Two

Dame Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the framework agreement between the Secretary of State for Transport and High Speed 2 Limited, published by his Department on 23 May 2018, for what reason his Department has not updated the HS2 Ltd’s Board minutes on gov.uk since November 2017.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: HS2 Ltd have now published Board Minutes up to March 2018. HS2 Ltd have a quality assurance process ensuring public confidence and accuracy in the information it is disclosing. HS2 Ltd are committed to being an open and transparent organisation and regularly publish large volumes of information about how it is developing and delivering Europe’s largest infrastructure project.

Southern

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of Southern trains have operated without an onboard supervisor in each month since guards were discontinued.

Joseph Johnson: In January 2017, Southern launched the on-board supervisor on routes where the technology allows the driver to control the doors. The conductors on these services were moved to an on-board supervisor (OBS) role. Since then approximately 1.3% of these services have operated without their rostered on-board supervisor for the full journey. This only happens in certain exceptional circumstances such as staff sickness or the second staff member running late.

Large Goods Vehicles: Weight Limits

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department's letter entitled Regulation of mobile concrete batching plant – decision on operating weight arrangements, published on 5 April 2018, what the evidential basis was for his Department's decision that there was no compelling case for amending regulations to permit mobile batching concrete plants (MCBPs) to continue to operate outside standard legal gross vehicle weight limits after the inclusion of MCBPs within statutory goods vehicle testing from 20 May 2018.

Jesse Norman: The inclusion of mobile concrete batching plant, alongside a number of other formerly-exempt vehicles types, in statutory goods vehicle testing from 20 May 2018 does not change the legal weight limits applicable to these vehicles.The ‘special types’ rules, which permit certain vehicle types to operate outside the standard weight limits, are generally used to enable the carriage of equipment and indivisible loads which for engineering reasons cannot feasibly comply with the standard rules, and not because of economic or financial considerations. To apply these rules to divisible loads would represent a significant departure from precedent, could lead to demands for other vehicle types to be afforded similar treatment and would therefore require an exceptionally compelling case.There is nothing to indicate that mobile batching plant, which carries a divisible load, cannot be feasibly operated within the standard legal weight limits.

Large Goods Vehicles: Weight Limits

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to conduct an assessment of the effect of not permitting mobile batching concrete plants to continue to operate outside standard legal gross vehicle weight limits on (a) the economy and (b) businesses.

Jesse Norman: The Department does not in general conduct impact assessments on the application of existing legal requirements, and has no plans to do so in this case.

Large Goods Vehicles: Weight Limits

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport,  with reference to his Department's letter entitled Regulation of mobile concrete batching plant – decision on operating weight arrangements, published on 5 April 2018, what assessment he has made of the effect on fair competition within the wet concrete market industry of the decisions contained within that letter.

Jesse Norman: The decision to establish a 10-year temporary arrangement enabling mobile concrete batching plant to operate in excess of standard weight limits will create a temporary regulatory discrepancy between different forms of delivery of wet concrete. Having listened carefully to the industry, the Government believes that this will provide time for mobile batching plant to come into compliance with the currently-applicable legal limits, which also apply to barrel concrete mixers. At the end of that temporary period, there will be common limits across different modes of concrete delivery, helping to facilitate fair competition. The Department is aware that there are different maximum legal payloads for different vehicle types, due to differing unladen weights.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Iran: Exports

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 May 2018 to Question 144970 on Iran: Export, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that UK firms are able to receive payment for sending medical supplies to Iran in light of the US sanctions imposed on Iran’s banking sector and central bank.

Alistair Burt: Medical supplies remain exempt from US sanctions.

Arms Trade: Israel

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the evidential basis was for the Government's decision that the approval of the licencing of sniper rifles and components to Israel on 6 January 2016 did not risk those items being used for (a) internal repression under criteria 2a and (b) serious violations of international humanitarian law under criteria 2c of the Consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria.

Alistair Burt: Our assessment of export licence applications for sniper rifles and their components, as for other items, takes into account the particular circumstances of the end user and proposed end use of the equipment. Assessments draw on all available information at the time, including information from Government sources including British Embassies, Non-Governmental Organisations and the media.

Israel: Palestinians

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 May 2018 to Question 144790 on Israel: Palestinians, whether the Government has sought (a) assurances and (b) information from (i) the Israeli government and (ii) non-governmental sources on the use of arms exported from the UK against protesters in Gaza in recent weeks.

Alistair Burt: We have no information to suggest that UK supplied equipment has been used against protesters in Gaza. The UK takes its defence exports obligations extremely seriously. We will not issue a licence if there is a clear risk that the equipment might be used for internal repression or in violation of international humanitarian law. The UK is supportive of an independent and transparent investigation into the recent events in Gaza.

Russia: Football

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether extra support is to be offered by the Government to England fans who are travelling to the World Cup in Russia as a result of tensions between the UK and Russian Governments; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: British Government planning for the tournament began two years ago. We will have consular staff based in every city that England will play in, in addition to the British Embassy in Moscow and Consulates in St Petersburg and Ekaterinburg. We are working closely with The Football Association, supporters group, and the local authorities to get the most accurate data on fan numbers and fan movements to ensure we have sufficient numbers of Embassy staff to support them. We encourage fans attending the tournament to stay up to date by following our Travel Advice and to subscribe to our 'Be on the Ball' alerts.

Moldova: Foreign Relations

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last met his Moldovan counterpart; and what issues were discussed at that meeting.

Sir Alan Duncan: Foreign Minister Ulianovschi is scheduled to visit the UK next month. I plan to meet with him as part of the visit programme. We have been supporting Moldova’s ambitious reform programme for a number of years and are working towards a strong post-Brexit relationship with Moldova including through the transition of the EU’s international agreements to ensure continuity in our partnership.

Greece: Foreign Relations

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last met his Greek counterpart; and what issues were discussed at that meeting.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Foreign Secretary last met Mr Nikolaos Kotzias, Greek Minister for Foreign Affairs, at the EU Foreign Affairs Council on 19 March. They discussed issues of mutual interest to the UK and Greece. I aslo attended the FAC with him on Monday 28th May.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Travel

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the procurement of an aircraft for use when discharging the duties of his office; and if he will provide details of his Department's travel policy.

Sir Alan Duncan: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

United Nations: Peace Keeping Operations

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much the Government has spent on UN peacekeeping in each of the last eight years.

Mark Field: ​UK expenditure on UN peacekeeping includes the following: our assessed (mandatory) contributions for individual peacekeeping operations; funding for UK troop deployments to Cyprus, South Sudan and Somalia and a number of staff officers and police deployed to UN peacekeeping missions and UN headquarters. We have also funded projects in the UN's Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) with the purpose of making peacekeeping more effective and efficient. Our expenditure on UN peacekeeping comes from the Cross Government Conflict, Security and Stability Fund (CSSF) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.Our assessed (mandatory) contributions for individual UN Peacekeeping missions were £265m in 2017/18, £277m in 2016/17, £312m in 2015/16, £347m in 2014/15, £304m in 2013/14, £324m in 2012/13, £367m in 2011/12. FCO internal records do not cover earlier years: however, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Report states that our assessed contributions for peacekeeping overall (including contributions to peacekeeping undertaken by other multilateral organisations) was £408m. The funded projects in DPKO, via the CSSF, cost £4.4m in 2017/18, £2.6m in 2016/17 and £3.1m in 2015/16. Our UK troop deployment to Cyprus costs £18m per year and our troop deployments to South Sudan and Somalia cost £15m in 2016/17 with figures currently not available for 2017/18.

United Nations: Peace Keeping Operations

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much money the UN has reimbursed the UK for the provision of (a) personnel and (b) equipment for peacekeeping operations in each of the last eight years.

Mark Field: Our Government receives reimbursements from the UN for both personnel and equipment deployed on peacekeeping operations. For personnel (troop reimbursements) we received £5.5m in 2017/18, £3.7m in 2016/17, £3.1m in 2015/16, £2.9m in 2014/15, £3.5m in 2013/14, £2.7m in 2012/13, £1.1m in 2011/12 and £3.5m in 2010/11. These reimbursements are for our troop contributions to Cyprus (UNFICYP), Somalia (UNSOS) and South Sudan (UNMISS). For equipment contributions we received £121k in 2017/18, £59.2k in 2016/17, £17k in 2015/16, £16k in 2014/15, £45k in 2013/14, £0 in 2012/13, £0 in 2011/12 and £10k in 2010/11.

Somalia: Somaliland

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to support a ceasefire in hostilities between Puntland and Somaliland.

Harriett Baldwin: Our Ambassador in Somalia has spoken to the Governments of Somalia, Puntland and Somaliland to underscore the importance of an immediate cessation of hostilities. Violence is taking place amid an already difficult humanitarian situation and clashes only add to the suffering of people in the area. In speaking to President Muse Bihi (Somaliland) and President Gaas (Puntland) our Ambassador has made clear that economic development, the delivery of better services and an effective response to the region's environmental pressures depend on an enduring cessation of hostilities leading eventually to an agreement underpinning a sustainable peace.The UK continues to urge sustained, constructive and meaningful dialogue in the region and supports efforts to achieve this.

Somalia: Somaliland

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Government of (a) Puntland, (b) Somalia and (c) Swaziland on (i) recent hostilities between Puntland and Somaliland and (ii) threats made by Puntland to Somaliland.

Harriett Baldwin: Our Ambassador has spoken to the Governments of Somalia, Puntland and Somaliland to urge leaders on all sides to commit to an immediate cessation of hostilities, allow humanitarian access to conflict-affected communities and initiate dialogue to reduce tension and avoid miscommunication. The UK has also joined international partners in issuing a statement expressing our concern, which is available at https://unsom.unmissions.org/somalia%E2%80%99s-international-partners-gravely-concerned-over-clashes-near-tukaraq-call-ceasefire.It is imperative that all parties avoid rhetoric or actions that could increase tensions or hostility.

Department for International Development

Burma: Violence

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support her Department is providing to (a) programmes collecting evidence of gender-based violence by the government of Burma and (b) support victims of that violence.

Alistair Burt: The UK is clear about the need for the Burmese authorities to end all violence, including sexual violence in Rakhine. Experts from the UK’s Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative are supporting partner organisations to ensure that evidence gathering meets international standards. Through our humanitarian response to the Rohingya crisis in Bangladesh, DFID is supporting victims of gender-based violence with provision of medical services, counselling and psychological support.

Developing Countries: Family Planning

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much her Department spent on supporting birth control programmes in developing countries in (a) total and (b) each year for the last five years.

Alistair Burt: The UK leads the world in our long-term support for comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) including for family planning.In 2012 the UK committed to spend an average of £180m a year on family planning (FP) to 2020. Using internationally-agreed methodology (FP2020, Family Planning global partnership), since then DFID has spent a total of at least £910 million on Family Planning programmes between 2012/13 – 2016/17, which is an average of approximately £184 million each year. This includes both bilateral and core multilateral contributions to organisations such as UNFPA, WHO, World Bank & Global Fund for Aids, Tuberculosis Malaria. DFID are currently the second largest global bilateral donor for family planning in developing countries and have met the 2012 commitment.

Africa: Plastics

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to help DFID's partner countries in Africa increase reuse and recycling of plastics.

Harriett Baldwin: At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, DFID committed to using UK aid to help tackle the problem of marine plastic pollution, including in our partner countries in Africa. DFID is currently developing programmes to provide up to £28 million to tackle plastics pollution, with a focus on solid waste management and sustainable manufacturing.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Overseas Aid

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the value is of her Department's humanitarian assistance programmes for the Democratic Republic of Congo in the last three years.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK is one of the leading humanitarian donors in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Over the last three years, £131m of bilateral UKAid has been provided to support the humanitarian needs in the country. The table below provides a breakdown of disbursements by year. Financial Year Total (£m)2015/16302016/17312017/1870Total131

Department for International Development: Chief Scientific Advisers

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many meetings she had with her Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser between 1 January and 31 March 2018.

Harriett Baldwin: I hold the responsibility for DFID’s Science and Research. The DFID Chief Scientific Adviser has met with me twice during the period of January-March 2018. In addition, DFID’s Chief Scientific Adviser has also had two meetings with Minister of State Lord Bates during this period. The Chief Scientific Adviser has met with the Secretary of State twice during the period of January-March 2018. The Chief Scientific Adviser continues to provide all Ministers with regular written submissions and briefings on DFID’s science and research activities.

Syria: Reconstruction

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to recent legislation passed by the US administration on funding for the reconstruction of Syria, what assessment he has made of the merits of bringing forward similar legislative proposals.

Alistair Burt: While the conflict is ongoing, our priority is to deliver life-saving humanitarian aid to those affected. We will not provide support for reconstruction until a credible, genuine and inclusive political transition is firmly underway. This is in agreement with other countries, including the US. We continue to champion this position internationally.

Taiwan: World Health Organisation

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to facilitate Taiwan's participation in the World Health Organisation to safeguard global health security.

Alistair Burt: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has a critical role in protecting the world’s health and strengthening global health security. The WHO has an agreed process for engagement with Taiwan including on Global Health security and health emergencies. The UK continues to support Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organisations where statehood is not a prerequisite and where Taiwan can make a valuable contribution.

Gaza: International Assistance

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will support the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs' humanitarian funding appeal for Gaza.

Alistair Burt: I recently visited Gaza and saw the dire situation that Gazans face on a daily basis. We are providing new humanitarian support of £1.5 million through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which is not covered by the UN Appeal. ICRC activities include support to patients in 11 hospitals under pressure in Gaza, by restocking vital medical supplies following the recent surge in violence. Last year, the UK provided £1.9 million to support the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Gaza urgent funding appeal. This is delivered through the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to support critical water and sanitation facilities to stop the spread of disease. This support will continue until September 2018.

Gaza: Health Services and Sanitation

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support the Government has provided for healthcare and sanitation in Gaza in each of the last three years.

Alistair Burt: In 2018/19, the UK is providing £1.5 million to support the International Committee of the Red Cross appeal. This support will help to treat patients in 11 hospitals under pressure in Gaza, by restocking vital medical supplies following the recent surge in violence. In 2017/18 the UK provided £1.9 million to support the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Gaza urgent funding appeal. This is delivered through the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to support critical water and sanitation facilities to stop the spread of disease. This support will continue until September 2018. In each of the last three years the UK helped to provide basic health services to 1.3 million people in Gaza through our long-term support of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA).

Somaliland: Storms

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support her Department is providing (a) bilaterally and (b) multilaterally to relief efforts following Cyclone Sagar in Somaliland; and if she will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: We are very concerned about the plight of the many thousands of people affected by the recent tropical storm in Somaliland in particular and flooding in Somalia more generally. The UK’s early commitment of £45m for the humanitarian response so far in Somalia in 2018 is enabling our bilateral and multilateral partners, such as World Food Programme, UNICEF, Food and Agriculture Organization, OCHA, Islamic Relief, the Somali Red Crescent Society and Save the Children, to be flexible and adapt to urgent needs as they arise. In response to Tropical Storm Sagar, existing NGO and UN partners are drawing on pre-positioned relief supplies and redirecting resources to provide urgently needed water treatment kits, tents, and health and nutrition supplies sufficient to meet the needs of more than 400,000 people in Somaliland and other affected places. The relief effort is continuing, along with assessment work to identify longer term recovery needs.

Somaliland: Elections

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans her Department has to support Parliamentary elections in Somaliland in 2019.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK plans to support the delivery of local and parliamentary elections in Somaliland in 2019 by contributing to an audit and update of the voter registration system, providing essential technical expertise for the national election commission, and supporting people with disability to engage in Somaliland’s democratic processes.

Department for Education

Department for Education: Procurement

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many contractors have been employed by his Department for (a) up to one year, (b) between one and five years, (c) between five and 10 years and (d) over 10 years.

Anne Milton: We do not hold the data in the format that has been requested.We are able to provide the Department for Education’s data in relation to off-roll payroll engagements as of 31 March 2018, which are in excess of £245 per day and last longer than a six month period. This information has been provided within the attached table.



146175_Off-payroll_engagements_as_of_31_March_2018
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Disabled Students' Allowances

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 26 April 2018 to Question 137102 on Disabled Students' Allowances, excluding the cost of a standard computer, what other equipment his Department includes as a mainstream cost to participate in Higher Education; and what items are covered by a maintenance loan.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Disabled Student Allowance (DSA) is available solely where a student is obliged to incur additional costs while studying as a result of their disability. In the case of computer equipment, it was clear from evidence that this had become a mainstream cost for all students and that disabled students should therefore contribute towards the cost of computer equipment recommended through DSA. On receipt of a DSA Needs Assessment Report, the Student Loans Company will make a decision where necessary as to whether a particular piece of equipment that has been recommended is a mainstream cost or not. Maintenance loans are available to help fund the costs of study that all students incur. However, the department does not issue guidance to students on how they should spend these funds.

Sixth Form Education: Closures

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many sixth forms have closed in each constituency since 2010.

Anne Milton: There have been 10 sixth form colleges and 56 further education colleges, which have closed since 1 January 2010.Although usually one college closes in order to merge with another college, the majority of newly merged colleges have retained the original college’s estate. This means that although an institution may no longer exist independently, its closure does not equate to a loss of provision for learners in the area.Each college closure has been in a different constituency. The full list can be found in the attachment.



146781_Sixth_form_and_FE_college_closures
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Health Education: Females

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government is taking steps to ensure that menstrual wellbeing is part of the national school curriculum; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The current Sex and Relationship Education Guidance 2000 sets out at 2.8 that schools should make adequate and sensitive arrangements to help pupils cope with menstruation and with requests for sanitary protection. The Children and Social Work Act 2017 places a duty on the Secretary of State for Education to make Relationships Education, in primary schools, and Relationships and Sex Education, in secondary schools, compulsory in all schools. The Act provides a power for the Secretary of State to make Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHE), or elements therein, mandatory in all schools. The decision on PSHE is subject to careful consideration. The Department recently conducted an engagement exercise to seek evidence on what should be included in these subjects. The Government will develop the regulations and statutory guidance for these subjects for public consultation. These subjects will continue to ensure that pupils are taught about menstruation, complementing what is already included in the National Curriculum for science.

Sex and Relationship Education: LGBT People

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will hold discussions with his Welsh counterpart on the merits of including LGBTQI+ inclusive sex and relationships education in schools in England.

Nick Gibb: The Government expects all schools to ensure that the teaching of Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) is inclusive of the needs of all pupils, whatever their developing sexuality or identity, and is delivered in an age-appropriate way. All schools are required to comply with the Equality Act 2010. Following provisions in the Children and Social Work Act 2017, the Government is making Relationships Education at primary school and RSE at secondary school mandatory through regulations. To support decisions on the content of these subjects the Department recently conducted an engagement exercise with a wide range of expert stakeholders, including LGBT groups, as well as a public call for evidence. As part of this exercise, officials also met their counterparts from the Welsh Government. Using the evidence gathered during this process, the Government is developing the regulations and accompanying statutory guidance for these subjects. They will then be subject to public consultation followed by a debate on the regulations in Parliament.

Overseas Students

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to increase the number of overseas students studying in UK universities over the next 10 years.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The government fully recognises the important economic and cultural contribution that EU and international students make to the UK’s higher education sector. We want that contribution to continue and we are confident – given the world class quality of our higher education sector – that it will. We welcome international students and there continues to be no limit on the number who can come here to study, nor any plans to limit any institution’s ability to recruit international students from outside the EU. The UK remains a highly attractive destination for non-EU students, with their numbers remaining at record highs – over 170,000 non-EU entrants to UK higher education institutions (HEIs) for the seventh year running. We actively promote study in the UK through the GREAT Campaign and to over 100 countries through the British Council. To encourage ambition across the sector, the government also set an aspiration to increase education exports (up to 60% of which is comprised of international students at UK HEIs) to £30 billion by 2020. To help inform decisions on the future migration system, the government has commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee to provide an objective assessment of the impact of EU and non-EU international students by September 2018. This has provided an important opportunity for the sector to share views and evidence.

Schools: Offences against Children

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that there is a zero tolerance approach to sexual assault and harassment by staff of students in schools.

Nadhim Zahawi: All children, from whatever background and no matter what challenges they face, deserve a safe environment in which they can learn.The Teachers’ Standards 2012 state that teachers, as part of their professional duties, should safeguard children’s wellbeing.Statutory guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE), sets out that governing bodies and proprietors should ensure policies/procedures are in place for appropriate action to be taken to safeguard and promote children’s welfare. This includes a staff behaviour policy (code of conduct). When drafting staff behaviour policies, consideration should be given to Section 16 of The Sexual Offences Act 2003, whereby it is an offence for a person aged 18 or over to have a sexual relationship with a child under 18 where that person is in a position of trust to the child.All staff should undergo safeguarding/child protection training at induction and know of the systems in their school or college that support safeguarding. This training should be regularly updated.Part 4 of KCSIE provides detailed advice on managing allegations of abuse made against teachers and other staff. Where a person is dismissed or the employer ceases to use the person’s service, or the person resigns, schools and colleges have a legal duty to refer to the Disclosure and Barring Service anyone who has harmed, or poses a risk of harm to a child or vulnerable adult, for consideration of whether to bar the person from working with children. In cases involving teaching staff, schools also have a duty to consider a referral the Teaching Regulation Agency to consider prohibiting the individual from teaching.

Teachers

Mr Adrian Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of teaching graduates have gone on to work in schools in (a) England, (b) the West Midlands and (c) Sandwell Metropolitan Borough in each of the last five years.

Nick Gibb: The proportion of postgraduate final year trainee teachers awarded qualified teacher status, who were in a teaching post within 6 months of qualifying, is published in the Department’s annual initial teacher training (ITT) Performance Profiles statistical release. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/initial-teacher-training-performance-profiles-2015-to-2016. A time series of data for England are published in table 5a of the ‘Main Tables’ of the latest publication, which relates to trainees in the 2015/16 academic year. Statistics by region are available for the 2014/15 and 2015/16 academic years in the ‘Main Text’ of the relevant publications. The Department does not publish this data by local authority district, but figures are available by ITT provider in the Provider-level tables.

Teachers

Mr Adrian Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure teaching students go on to work in schools once they have graduated.

Nick Gibb: The latest data shows that 95% of postgraduate trainee teachers who were awarded Qualified Teacher Status were employed in a teaching post within six months of qualifying[1]. Initial Teacher Training (ITT) providers are required to demonstrate that their trainees go on to secure employment in schools; employment rates are one of the outcome measures that Ofsted uses to grade ITT providers. The Department is developing a free national digital service for schools to publish teacher vacancies and for teachers to search for them. This new service will assist newly registered teachers to find posts. The Department is also testing early-career payments for new maths teachers; they will receive a generous upfront payment of £20,000 and two early retention payments of at least £5,000 in their third and fifth year of teaching, wherever they teach in England, or £7,500 in 39 local authorities. In addition, teachers will benefit from the student loan repayment threshold rise, and a pilot student loan reimbursement programme for science and Modern Foreign Language teachers in 25 local authorities, in the early years of their career. [1]https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/632451/SFR38_2017_Text.pdf

Schools: Admissions

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in the number of school start deferral requests for summer-born children between 2015 and 2017.

Nick Gibb: The Department recently published a research report on delayed school admissions for summer born pupils, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/summer-born-children-school-admission. The report includes the findings of a survey of local authorities. The findings show that there has recently been an 84% increase in the number of requests for summer born children to be admitted to reception, rather than year one, at the age of five. Such requests represent 0.5% of the five-year-old population, and 75% were granted. The findings also show that there are fewer requests made in areas where the local authority’s policy is only to grant requests supported by strong evidence, and there are more requests in areas with a higher proportion of granted requests. The report suggests this may be because parents are more likely to submit a request if they believe there is a higher chance of it being granted. The increase in requests may also be due, in part, to greater awareness of this option amongst parents. The Department remains committed to amending the School Admissions Code to ensure summer born children can be admitted to reception at age five where this is what their parents want.

Teaching Excellence Framework Independent Review

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria he plans to apply to the appointment of the chair of the independent review into the Teaching Excellence Framework.

Mr Sam Gyimah: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, will follow the arrangements for appointing a suitable independent person to lead the review of the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF) that are set out in Section 26 of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017.

Teaching Excellence Framework Independent Review

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress has been made on appointing the chair of the independent review into the Teaching Excellence Framework.

Mr Sam Gyimah: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, aims to appoint a suitable independent person to report on the operation of the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework by autumn 2018.

Schools: South Yorkshire

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure schools in South Yorkshire have access to better funding.

Nick Gibb: With the introduction of the national funding formula, for the first time school funding is being distributed according to a formula based on the individual needs and characteristics of every school. This will direct resources where they are needed most, and provide transparency and predictability for schools. The Government recognises that schools need stability. This is why the Department has provided protection in the formula, so that every school and every local area, will be allocated an increase of at least 0.5% per pupil in 2018-19 and 1% in 2019-20, over its baseline. The following table shows the impact of the fully implemented national funding formula for the four metropolitan boroughs in South Yorkshire. These figures are calculated as if the national funding formula had been implemented in full in 2017-18, with no transitional arrangements. Average per pupil funding in 2017-18Average per pupil funding under the full NFF% gainBarnsley£4,438£4,8399.0%Doncaster£4,515£4,6793.6%Rotherham£4,676£4,8102.9%Sheffield£4,406£4,6966.6%National average£4,499£4,6573.5%  The Government recognises that many schools have worked hard to manage the impact of cost pressures on their budgets up to this point. The Department provides support, guidance and tools to help schools get the best value from their resources, further details of which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/schools-financial-health-and-efficiency.

Pre-school Education: Recruitment

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of advertising careers in the childcare and early education sector in each of the last three years.

Nadhim Zahawi: There has been advertising expenditure in relation to promoting the Early Years Initial Teacher Training route. Expenditure in the last three years, was as follows:2016-17: £36,0002015-16: £78,5002014-15: £53,616

Schools: Finance

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure school funding reflects changes in the costs faced by schools.

Nick Gibb: For the first time school funding is being distributed according to a formula based on the individual needs and characteristics of every school in the country. This will direct resources where they are needed most, and provide transparency and predictability for schools. The formula is responsive to changes in pupil characteristics, and reflects differences in labour market costs. The introduction of the national funding formulae is supported by significant extra investment of £1.3 billion across 2018-19 and 2019-20, over and above the budget announced at the 2015 spending review. As a result, per pupil funding will be maintained in real terms over the next two years. The Department recognises that many schools have worked hard to manage the impact of cost pressures on their budgets up to this point. That is why the Department provides support, guidance and tools to help schools achieve the best value from their resources. Further details can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/schools-financial-health-and-efficiency.

Children: Day Care

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much his Department spent on advertising and marketing the 30 hours of free childcare policy in the (a) Autumn 2017, (b) Spring 2018 and (c) Summer 2018 term.

Nadhim Zahawi: As of the 30 April 2018, we have spent £240,771.05 on advertising and marketing the 30 hours free childcare offer. This includes social media advertising, flyers and hosting information about the offer on the Childcare Choices website – https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.

Pupils: Hearing Impairment

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will meet with the National Deaf Children’s Society to discuss the Society’s recent research finding that over a third of local authorities are cutting funding from deaf children’s education.

Nadhim Zahawi: My right hon. Friend, the Minister for School Standards attended the All Party Parliamentary Group on Deafness on 12 March and recently met with the Chief Executive of the National Deaf Children’s Society to understand the challenges facing children and young people with hearing impairments. Officials will explore the findings of this research with the National Deaf Children's Society, as members of the National Sensory Impairment Partnership (NatSIP), to ensure schools have access to the support they need to support pupils with sensory impairments.

Apprentices: Per Capita Costs

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the latest allocation of non-levy apprenticeship funding is on a per capita basis by region.

Anne Milton: We do not hold data on non-levy allocations on a per capita/learner basis.The funding system is designed to let employers choose the apprenticeship, training provider and training location that best meet their needs.

Overseas Students: Complaints

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of the findings of the report by the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education of 26 April 2018 on the relative proportion of international students studying in England and Wales who complain about their university’s handling of a grievance compared to home students.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The UK remains a highly attractive destination for international students who come to study at our world class universities. We welcome international students, as they make an important contribution to the UK’s higher education sector both economically and culturally. Higher education institutions are autonomous organisations, but the government expects them to handle student complaints seriously, with providers taking into account the needs of all students when developing procedures for the handling of complaints and academic appeals. The 2017 annual report by the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA) lists the student complaints in England and Wales. It notes that 68% of complaints were made by home students, 6% of complaints were made by EU students and 23% of complaints were made by non-EU students. 3% of complaints were made by students whose status was unknown. The report lists several common factors from cases involving international students. These factors include language barriers and financial concerns. The government continues to work closely with the OIA to understand issues relating to student complaints in higher education.

Foster Care

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to Fostering in England 2016 to 2017: main findings, published by Ofsted on 29 March 2018, if he will publish the number of (a) foster places, (b) foster placements, and (c) placements not available in each local authority area for which figures were collected between 1 April 2016 and 31 March 2017.

Nadhim Zahawi: This is a matter for her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to the hon. Member for Coventry South and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Teachers: Pay

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will ensure that any pay rise recommended by the School Teachers’ Pay Review Body 2018 is paid for from a new and dedicated allocation of funding from the public purse.

Nick Gibb: The School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) has recently submitted its 28th Report to my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, which makes recommendations on the 2018 pay award. The government will now consider carefully the report from the STRB and its recommendations. The report and our response will be published as soon as possible.

Pupils: Nationality

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether any pupil nationality data collected by schools has been shared with the Home Office for immigration enforcement purposes since September 2016.

Nick Gibb: The National Pupil Database (NPD) is a longitudinal research database that provides invaluable evidence on educational performance to inform independent research, as well as studies commissioned by the Department. This data does not include nationality or birth information.Data on nationality and country of birth have not and will not be shared with the Home Office. These data items are for evidence and analysis by the Department for Education only and are not processed into the National Pupil Database. The former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the School System (Lord Nash) publicly committed to this during a House of Lords debate on 31 October 2016 on the Education (Pupil Information) (England) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2016 as found in columns 510 - 512 of volume 776 of Hansard. The current Memorandum of Understanding between the Department and the Home Office is in the House Library.

Academies

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance his Department provides to Regional Schools Commissioners on whether to consult with local hon. Members and multi-academy trusts with a relevant interest when brokering schools from a failing multi-academy trust.

Nadhim Zahawi: There is no formal guidance provided to Regional Schools Commissioners on the need to consult when re-brokering schools but we encourage transparency, listening exercises and communications with key stakeholders, which can include local MPs, to ensure that the department is in receipt of as much information as possible before deciding on a particular issue.

Social Mobility Commission: Public Appointments

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 21 May 2018 to Question 144926 on Social Mobility Commission: Public Appointments, if he will publish the (a) principal places of residence and (b) main employment and occupational sectors declared by applicants for Chair of the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission.

Nadhim Zahawi: We received 21 applications for the role of Chair of the Social Mobility Commission. Of those, 20 completed diversity monitoring forms. A breakdown by principal places of residence and main employment and occupational sectors are set out below:Principal places of residenceTotalScotland2North East0North West3Yorkshire and Humber0East Midlands0West Midlands1London6South East8South West0Wales0Northern Ireland0Main employment and occupational sectors Private sector2Wider public sector9Third sector5Mixed2Other1Prefer not to say1 To protect personal information we have not provided more detailed geographic information on the candidates’ place of residence.

Children's Centres: Closures

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2018 to Question 123506, on Children's Centres: Closures, if he will publish the (a) name and (b) post-code of Sure Start centres that closed between 2010 and 2016.

Nadhim Zahawi: Since 18 September 2017, real-time data on Sure Start children’s centres and children’s centre linked sites has been supplied by local authorities via the department’s Get Information about Schools database portal at: https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/. Based on the information supplied by local authorities[1], the attached document provides details of the name and postcode of children’s centres that closed between 2010 and 2016. Councils are reconfiguring services to deliver them more efficiently. If a council decides to close a children’s centre, statutory guidance is clear that they should demonstrate that local children and families would not be adversely affected and local areas continue to have sufficient children’s centres to meet their needs. [1] The list of children’s centres closed between 2010 and 2016 is based on information supplied by local authorities as at 24 May 2018 (8:30am). These figures may be different to previous answers, and could change again in the future, since local authorities may update the database at any time. 



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Music: GCSE

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students have taken GCSE Music by ethnic group in each year since 2010.

Nick Gibb: The number of entries[1], by pupils in state-funded schools, at the end of key stage 4, into GCSE (or equivalent) music[2], between 2012/13 – 2016/17 are provided in the table below:[3]Ethnicity2012/132013/14[4]2014/15[5]2015/162016/17White30,19730,62331,71730,14327,865Mixed1,8031,9922,1252,0951,992Asian1,2561,3571,5961,6801,622Black1,9602,1552,3382,2752,132Chinese345326331332296Any other ethnic group459411473502464Unknown ethnicity398384400358379Total36,41837,24838,98037,38534,750The percentage of all pupils entering music6.46.77.06.96.6 [1] Total number of entries include pupils who were absent, whose results are pending and results which are ungraded or unclassified.[2] Discounting has been applied where pupils have taken the same subject more than once and only one entry is counted in these circumstances. Only the first entry is counted, in all subjects, in line with the early entry guidance (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-stage-4-qualifications-discount-codes-and-point-scores).[3] All figures are based on final data.[4] In 2013/14, two major reforms were implemented which affect the calculation of key stage 4 performance measures data: 1) Professor Alison Wolf’s Review of Vocational Education recommendations which: restrict the qualifications counted; prevent any qualification from counting as larger than one GCSE; and cap the number of non-GCSEs included in performance measures at two per pupil, and 2) an early entry policy to only count a pupil’s first attempt at a qualification, in subjects counted in the English Baccalaureate.[5] From 2014/15, early entry policy, under which only a pupil’s first attempt at a qualification is counted in performance measures, is extended to all subjects.

Music: GCE A-level

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students have taken A Level Music by ethnic group in each year since 2010.

Nick Gibb: The total entries in each year are provided in the below table: [1], [2], [3], [4]Ethnicity[5]2011201220132014201520162017[5]White3,7013,5013,2153,0342,9302,4662,604Mixed112114119146128138128Asian47423953325344Black75706554645654Chinese30322950412828Any other ethnic group20272922311823Unknown ethnicity[6]1,2511,2461,1531,1841,1221,0251,052Total5,2365,0324,6494,5434,3483,7843,933Information is not available for 2010 [1] For 2010/11 – 2015/16 - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-level-attainment-by-pupil-characteristics. For 2016/17 - https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/a-level-and-other-16-to-18-results-2016-to-2017-revised (open the ‘A level exam results and A level and vocational participation csv’ and then the ‘A level subjects by characteristics’ file).[2] Figures are based on final data.[3] Students, at the end of their 16-18 study, who entered A level music.[4] Includes entries into A level music qualifications which are eligible for inclusion in performance tables. Where qualifications taken by a student are in the same subject area and similar in content, ‘discounting’ rules have been applied to avoid double counting qualifications.[5] The methodology through which students ethnicity is identified was changed in 2016/17. Up to 2015/16 a student’s ethnicity was taken from their census record three years prior to the academic year the figures are reported for. In 2016/17 a student’s ethnicity is taken from the census record of their final year of key stage 4 study (normally, three years prior). Due to this change, 2016/17 figures can not be compared to earlier years.[6] A student’s ethnicity may be unknown for several reasons, including if they attended an independent secondary school (which do not complete the school census).

T-levels

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how the Government made its decision that the four T-level routes of Transport and Logistics, Sales, Marketing and Procurement, Social Care and Protective Services will be delivered without any classroom-based learning; and what evidence supports that decision.

Anne Milton: Following extensive analysis and stakeholder engagement, the Independent Panel on Technical Education led by Lord Sainsbury, identified that four technical routes (Transport and Logistics, Sales, Marketing and Procurement, Social Care and Protective Services) would be better suited to delivery via work-based training (apprenticeships), rather than classroom-based provision such as T levels. The government accepted their recommendation and these routes formed the basis for developing the occupational maps, which are now owned by the Institute for Apprenticeships.

Childline: Finance

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he is taking steps to ensure that Childline has sufficient funding.

Nadhim Zahawi: The department is supporting the NSPCC through an £8 million grant over four years to 2020, as a contribution to funding Childline (a phone and online advice service for children) and the NSPCC’s National Helpline (for anyone with concerns or worries about a child).

Apprentices: Travel

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 21 May 2018 to Question 144194, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on funding for apprentice travel.

Anne Milton: Both the department and my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, have regular dialogue with my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in support of meeting the government’s ambitions for high quality apprenticeships. We do not want the cost of travel to deter people from starting an apprenticeship, including those in rural or disadvantaged areas. We are working with the Department for Transport to explore options on the practicality of implementing a travel scheme to enable young people to access apprenticeships. The Department for Transport has commissioned research to investigate possible options that could support apprentices travel costs - assessing schemes in the UK and elsewhere.

Higher Education: Standards

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with representatives from universities on his proposals for a subject-level version of the Teaching Excellence Framework.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The department has met regularly with university representatives about the development of the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework (TEF) at subject level. Between 12 March and 21 May, we also undertook a technical consultation on subject-level TEF. This consultation provided an opportunity for all stakeholders, including universities and other higher education providers, to comment on the proposals for subject-level TEF both in writing and at consultation events.

Institutes of Technology: Finance

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many applications his Department received from providers for a share of the £170 million funding available for new Institutes of Technology status.

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the timescale is for the outcome of the procurement process for providers who have applied for new Institutes of Technology status.

Anne Milton: We announced the outcome of Stage 1 of the competition to establish Institutes of Technology on 27 May. This information can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/institutes-of-technology-competition.

Children's Centres

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2018 to Question 144964 on children's centres, if he will place a copy in the Library of his Department's clarification to the Science & Technology Committee referred to in that answer.

Nadhim Zahawi: I have written to the Chair of the Science and Technology Select Committee with a clarification. I would expect this letter to be published as part of the normal course of the inquiry. It should therefore be available to the House without the need for a copy to be placed in the Library.

Department for Education: Chief Scientific Advisers

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many meetings he had with his Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser between 1 January and 31 March 2018.

Anne Milton: The department did not have a Chief Scientific Adviser between 1 January and 31 March 2018. During this period we conducted a review of analysis and considered whether the department required a Chief Scientific Adviser in addition to a Chief Analyst as part of that review. The Chief Scientific Adviser was appointed on 3 April 2018.

Children: Day Care

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the answer of 23 May to Question 143823 on Children: Day Care, what scrutiny his Department undertakes on the effectiveness of IT systems procured by local authorities to support the 30 free hours of childcare policy.

Nadhim Zahawi: Local authorities are responsible for defining and procuring 30 hours systems that best fit their needs and requirements. As these requirements vary across local authorities, the department does not provide scrutiny of these systems.

Autism: Barnsley

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will take steps to ensure that people in Barnsley with severe autism have local access to specialist schools and services without having to travel to Wakefield or Rotherham for such school and services.

Nadhim Zahawi: Local authorities must ensure there are sufficient good school places for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities. If a local authority identifies a shortage of special school places for children and young people in its area, resulting in a significant number having to travel a long way to access an appropriate placement, it will need to consider creating or expanding specialist provision, either attached to mainstream schools or in special schools.The department has allocated £215 million of capital funding (over and above basic need funding) to help build new places at mainstream and special schools, and to improve existing places to benefit current and future pupils. Local authorities, through consultation with local stakeholders, should decide how best to spend their allocation to meet local needs.

Autism: Barnsley

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that specialist schools in Barnsley have sufficient resources to teach people who have severe autism.

Nadhim Zahawi: We recognise the challenges that special schools face supporting pupils with high levels of need, that is why base funding is set at a much higher level of £10,000 per place. On top of this, local authorities provide top up funding to reflect additional need in respect of individual pupils. The level of the top-up funding is a matter for agreement between the local authority and the school, and we do not prescribe in detail how local authorities should allocate their high needs funding. To assist local authorities in making sure that special schools have sufficient resources, in 2018-19 we have provided Barnsley with £21.9 million in high needs funding, 3.1% more than they planned to spend in 2017-18. These allocations can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dedicated-schools-grant-dsg-2018-to-2019.

Children in Care

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children were taken into care in each of the last ten years.

Nadhim Zahawi: The number of children entering the care system in the last 10 years is provided in the attached table.



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Academies: Standards

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the answer to Question 145610 of 23 May 2018 on Academies, how many of the schools that (a) opened as sponsored academies and (b) did not open as sponsored academies have received a new Ofsted grade better than inadequate since directive academy orders were issued.

Nadhim Zahawi: From 18 April 2016 to 1 May 2018, 426 academy orders have been issued to inadequate local authority maintained schools. Of the 218 schools that have opened as sponsored academies none have been inspected as an academy to date. Ofsted will usually inspect new schools, including academies when they are in their third year of operation. Ofsted may conduct an inspection of any new school at any time, including within three years of opening, where information held or received causes sufficient concern. Of the remaining 208 schools that have not opened as a sponsored academy, 39 have been re-inspected, 37 of which have seen their Ofsted grade improve. 186 of the 208 schools are in the process of becoming sponsored academies, 77 of which received an academy order within the last 9 months. 21 schools from the 208 have had their academy orders revoked and are no longer progressing towards conversion. The department supports all schools becoming sponsored academies to have school improvement plans in place regardless of their place in the process.

Social Mobility Commission: Public Appointments

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to his Department's press release entitled New Chair of the Social Mobility Commission recommended, published by his Department on 23 May 2018, what the timetable is for the appointment process for the remaining Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commissioners to commence.

Nadhim Zahawi: The recruitment process for the Social Mobility Commissioners will begin in the coming weeks. This process will not be completed until a new Chair is formally appointed. This will allow the Chair to be involved in the process of recruiting a high quality Board with a range of skills and expertise.

Pupils: Travellers

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to improve the attainment of pupils from (a) gypsy and roma and (b) Irish Traveller backgrounds.

Nick Gibb: Through the Pupil Premium the Government continues to provide additional funding, nearly £2.5 billion this year, to help schools improve the progress and attainment of disadvantaged pupils; high proportions of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils will benefit from this support. In January 2018 the Department established the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller stakeholder group to inform policy to raise the attainment of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils. In March 2018, a review of exclusions was launched, led by Edward Timpson, who will be supported by an expert reference group providing expertise on the school system and perspectives of pupils more likely to be excluded. The group includes an advisor with extensive experience working with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities. The Department continues to work with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government on their 2018/19 pilot programme to improve the social integration of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities. In addition, as part of the Careers Strategy, the Department will include Gypsy, Roma and Traveller youth as a target group for a pilot, testing ways of providing careers guidance to vulnerable groups.

Secondary Education: Standards

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the oral answer of the Schools Minister, Nick Gibb on 14 May to the hon. Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East, what steps he is taking to review Progress 8; and when he expects that review to be complete.

Nick Gibb: The answer given in response to the Topical Question of 14 May referred to the changes being introduced to the Progress 8 methodology in 2018 to limit the impact that a small number of pupils with extremely negative progress scores can have on a school’s overall score. The Department set out further information on this change in the secondary accountability guidance, published in January 2018. The Department continues to listen to feedback from school leaders and other stakeholders on Progress 8 and to monitor patterns in entries and results, as part of ongoing work to keep all secondary school performance measures under review. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education announced on 4 May further clarification to the accountability system so that schools can be clear that no mandatory intervention will follow from a progress score. The secondary accountability guidance is available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/progress-8-school-performance-measure.

Schools: Halton

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding of schools in the Halton constituency.

Nick Gibb: School funding is at its highest ever level with core funding for schools and high needs having risen from almost £41 billion in 2017-18 to £42.4 billion this year and £43.5 billion in 2019-20. The Department primarily allocates revenue funding for schools at local authority level. Schools in Halton will attract 4.7% more funding, compared to their 2017-18 baselines, under the national funding formula. Local authorities will continue to set local formulae to determine individual schools’ budgets in 2018-19 and 2019-20. It remains the Department’s intention that every school’s budget should be set on the basis of a single, national formula, but the Department believes a period of transition will provide greater stability for schools. The Department will publish notional funding formula allocations for 2019-20 later this year after updating calculations using the latest autumn census data.

Teachers: Pay

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on ensuring that any salary increase recommended by the 2018 School Teachers’ Review Body on teachers' pay is paid for from new and dedicated funding from the public purse.

Nick Gibb: I refer the hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon to the answer I gave on 4 June 2018 to Question 147519.

Schools: Standards

James Frith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the change in the number of pupils at schools which have been rated as good or outstanding in each of the last 10 years.

Nick Gibb: There are 1.9 million more children being taught in good or outstanding schools than in 2010. The total number of pupils attending schools rated as Good or Outstanding as at August of each academic year since 2010 can be found in the table below:YearNumber of Pupls20104,855,33620115,000,15120125,017,51820135,701,50020145,889,15320156,212,47720166,632,46920176,768,836 Published data is only available back to August 2010.

Mathematics: Teachers

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teachers are qualified Maths teachers in secondary schools in England.

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teachers are qualified English teachers in secondary schools in England.

Nick Gibb: As at November 2016, there were 34,400 qualified teachers of mathematics in service in state funded secondary schools in England and 37,600 qualified teachers of English. Of these, 77.7% of mathematics teachers had a relevant post A level qualification and 81.4% of English teachers had a relevant post A level qualification.[1] A relevant post A level qualification in mathematics is defined as a first degree or higher, BEd degree, PGCE, Certificate of Education or any other qualification at National Qualifications Framework (NQF) level 4 or above in any branch of mathematics including probability and statistics. A relevant post A level qualification in English is defined as one of the above qualifications in English language or literature, creative writing or linguistics. [1] See Table 12 of the statistical release, School Workforce in England, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2016. November 2017 information is scheduled to be released in June/July this year.

Primary Education: Free School Meals

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many primary school pupils received a free school meal in England in 2017.

Nadhim Zahawi: The number of pupils in state-funded primary schools taking a free school meal on census day in January 2017 was 536,650. The number and proportion of pupils eligible for and claiming free school meals, as well as those taking a free school meal on census day, are published in the annual ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’ statistical release, available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2017.

Pupils: Hyperactivity

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 23 May 2018 to Question 145616, if his Department will review the adequacy of the current approach to pupils with hyperactivity.

Nadhim Zahawi: It is the responsibility of schools to keep under review the approach they take to supporting pupils with special educational needs and disability (SEND), including those with hyperactivity. The government keep the overall SEND framework under review through regular monitoring of implementation through our SEND advisers and through the Ofsted and Care Quality Commission local area inspections. These joint area-based inspections are in addition to Ofsted’s inspections of individual schools. It is important that future support for all children and young people with SEND is targeted where it will be most effective. Our response to Dame Christine Lenehan’s review of residential schools and colleges, expected later this year, will set out our next steps in achieving the vision of a reformed SEND system. We also plan to review the 0-25 SEND Code of Practice in due course.

Regional Schools Commissioners and Schools Commissioner

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, (a) what the budget was and (b) how many staff were employed in the (i) office of the National Schools Commissioner and (ii) offices of each of the Regional Schools Commissioners in each of the last three financial years to date.

Nadhim Zahawi: As a result of structural changes within the Department for Education in 2015-16, the Academies Regional Delivery Group (ARDG) was created, incorporating the National Schools Commissioner and Regional School Commissioners (RSC) with complementary regional and other functions. Workforce costs and numbers for ARDG are therefore not comparable with predecessor structures and organisation. Workforce budget spend for financial year (FY) 2016-17 and for FY 2017-18 and Staffing Full Time Equivalent figures (FTE) as at 31 March in 2017 and 2018.RSC RegionWorkforce budget spend  FY 2016-17 (m)31 March 2017 FTEWorkforce budget spend  FY 2017-18 (m)31 March 2018 FTESouth West£2.2054.66£1.9855.59West Midlands£1.9058.62£1.9152.57East Midlands and Humber£1.9046.99£1.4859.93Lancashire and West Yorkshire£1.8554.16£1.9168.71North East London and East of England£1.6044.01£1.6241.46North£1.5740.48£1.2941.28North West London and South Central£1.8949.35£1.6252.43South London and South East£2.1854.19£1.6658.52ARDG National Core£7.05127.27£8.13148.77RSC Staff Programmes Costs£4.08 £9.95 Total£26.22529.73£31.55579.26  As of 1 March 2017As of 1 March 2018Number of academies and free schools (including studio schools and university technical colleges (UTCs))6,5187,613Approximate number of pupils in academies and free schools (including studio schools and UTCs)3.4 million3.7 millionNote: January 2018 census information is due to be published 28 June 2018.

Ofsted

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, (a) what the budget was and (b) how many staff were employed by Ofsted in each of the last three financial years to date.

Nick Gibb: This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Education and Skills Funding Agency

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, (a) what the budget was and (b) how many staff were employed in the Education and Skills Funding Agency in each of the last three financial years to date.

Anne Milton: The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) began its first year of operation on 1 April 2017. The total budget for the ESFA for the 2017-18 financial year was £61.7 billion. The number of permanent staff as at 31 March 2018 was 1,638.

Sugar: Taxation

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when his Department plans to allocate funding for 2019-20 from the soft drinks levy; and if he will make a statement.

Nadhim Zahawi: The 2016 Budget announced funding for a number of programmes linked to the revenue from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy. The Department of Education (DfE) will receive £575 million during the current spending review period. The funding has been allocated to a number of programmes to support pupil health and wellbeing. In financial year 2019-20 £160 million and has been allocated to the primary physical education and school sport premium (totalling £320 million with funding from DfE and the Department of Health and Social Care) and £14 million for breakfast clubs.

Leader of the House

Absent Voting

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Leader of the House, whether she plans to take steps to implement the recommendations of the Fifth Report of the Procedure Committee, Proxy voting and parental absence, published on 9 May 2018, HC 825.

Andrea Leadsom: I am grateful to the Procedure Committee for its work on proxy voting and the proposals that they have made in their report. The Government is currently considering the recommendations in detail and will respond to the report in due course.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Rural Areas: Shops

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support his Department makes available for small village shops run by voluntary associations.

David Rutley: The LEADER programme supports the provision of rural services and has provided £346,000 in locally led grants for community shops. The ACRE Network of Rural Community Councils has a long history and strong track record in supporting community entrepreneurship, the management of community assets such as shops and encouraging communities to engage with service providers such as the Post Office. Defra has supported the ACRE Network for many years, providing around £2 million of funding per year. Defra also works closely with the Plunkett Foundation which supports people, predominantly in rural areas, to set up and run successful community co-operatives such as shops. The Government has doubled the Small Business Rate Relief from 50% to 100% from 1 April 2017, benefitting rural businesses such as shops. They can qualify for rural rate relief if their business is in a rural area with a population below 3,000 or if they are the only village shop or post office, with a rateable value of up to £8,500.

Recycling

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to increase the amount of recycling of materials; if he will protect the level of recycling credits for local government; and if he will make a statement.

David Rutley: As stated in the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan we are committed to supporting comprehensive and frequent waste and recycling collections, and want to ensure that products are recycled as much as possible, returning high quality materials back to the economy. We will set out plans to increase recycling in the Resources and Waste Strategy to be published later this year. This will include taking forward our commitment in the Litter Strategy to work with stakeholders to explore how cost‑sharing arrangements (including recycling credits) for waste and recycling can work most effectively, especially in areas of two-tier authorities.

Packaging: Recycling

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with industry on raising the level of recycled materials in packaging recovery notes.

David Rutley: The Government has committed in our 25 Year Environment Plan and Clean Growth Strategy to reforming our producer responsibility systems (including the packaging waste regulations) to incentivise producers to take greater responsibility for the environmental impacts of their products. This will look at all aspects of the packaging producer responsibility regime, including mechanisms to incentivise better design and encourage the greater use of recycled material, as well as the funding of collections within the system. The Secretary of State has had discussions with the Waste & Resources Action Programme, the Industry Council for Packaging & the Environment and the Advisory Committee on Packaging as representatives of industry to hear their views on reforming the packaging producer responsibility system, including incentivising the use of recycled content.

Food: Labelling

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to ensure that food labelling and packaging of animal-derived products contains information about how the animals were reared; and if he will make a statement.

George Eustice: The methods of production for eggs such as ‘free range’ and ‘barn’ and poultry meat are already defined in law and the use of the Red Tractor, RSPCA Assured and the British Lion are accreditation schemes that help identify products where their respective animal health and welfare standards have been met. Leaving the EU will create the opportunity to do more by way of improved labelling for consumers and the government is considering what further options three might be after leaving the EU.

Agriculture: Scotland

Luke Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has received representations since April 24th 2018 from the Scottish Government on the creation of common frameworks for agriculture after the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice: Ministers and officials are in regular contact with the Scottish Government on the need for common frameworks. The Secretary of State last met Ministers from the Scottish and Welsh Governments and senior officials from Northern Ireland on 14 May 2018 when the need for common frameworks was discussed. It is our intention that each administration has the freedom to design policies that support their farming sectors and enhance their environment. We are working with the devolved administrations to identify where common frameworks are required. Common frameworks should only be established where they are needed; whether this is to maintain a functioning UK internal market, to strike trade deals, or to provide the certainty required to meet international obligations.

Agriculture: Scotland

Luke Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support his Department has provided to the devolved administration in Edinburgh to devise agricultural policies for the period after the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice: Agriculture is a devolved responsibility, and it is the Government’s intention that each administration has the freedom to design policies that support the individual characteristics of their agricultural industries and unique landscapes.The Government has committed to work closely with the Devolved Administrations and stakeholders to deliver an approach that works for the whole of the UK and reflects the individual needs of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; subject to where common frameworks may be necessary.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason the terms of reference on his Department's website for the 2018 bovine tuberculosis strategy review have not been updated to reflect the fact that the review is planned to consider all areas of the existing bovine TB strategy including badger culling.

George Eustice: The terms of reference, as published, remain correct. They set out that badger culling is within the scope of the Bovine TB strategy review. They explain that this is not narrowly a review of culling but of the whole Bovine TB strategy, of which culling is just one part. They also make clear the review will not revisit the rationale for current interventions deployed to tackle the disease. The review of the Bovine TB strategy is forward looking and will consider what steps can be taken to improve, enhance or accelerate interventions to achieve the eradication of bovine TB.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Chief Scientific Advisers

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many meetings he had with his Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser between 1 January and 31 March 2018.

George Eustice: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has held three meetings with, or involving, his Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser between 1 January and 31 March 2018.

Animal Welfare

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the number of animal rescue centres with overcrowded living conditions.

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the number of  animals that are unsuitably re-homed from animal rescue centres in England in each of the last five years.

George Eustice: The Government has not made any such assessments, but under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, it is an offence to cause any unnecessary suffering to an animal or to fail to provide for its welfare needs. If anyone has any concerns about the welfare of an animal in a rescue centre, they should report it to the relevant local authority which has powers to investigate, or to the RSPCA who can also investigate such matters. The Government supports the work of the Association of Dogs and Cats Homes whose members must meet minimum standards of welfare.

Animal Welfare

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the processes for checking for diseases in animal rescue centres.

George Eustice: All animal keepers, including operators of animal rescue centres, have a duty of care to prevent unnecessary suffering, and are legally obliged to report the presence of notifiable diseases to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), even if they only suspect that an animal may be affected. Failure to do so is an offence.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to speed up communication with farmers on the results of tests when farms are found to be clear from bovine TB after having being shut down.

George Eustice: The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has a procedure in place for communicating to cattle keepers the lifting of movement restrictions when a bovine TB breakdown has been resolved. The official notifications are issued when all the necessary TB tests have been completed on their farm businesses and any further checks have confirmed their herds are eligible to regain Official TB Free (OTF) status. APHA’s current target for issuing TB10 to lift the restrictions is within 2 weeks of the date of the final clear test. Additionally and as part of this procedure, a cattle keeper can contact the relevant APHA administration team and/or their APHA case veterinarian and request urgent lifting of movement restrictions. If a customer contacts us with such a request we will expedite that request as long as all the requirements to regain OTF status are met. APHA’s internal procedures are subject to regular review process to ensure that its service fully meets the agreed needs of its customers.

Waste Management

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to enhance the regulation of extended producer responsibility after the UK leaves the EU.

David Rutley: The Clean Growth Strategy makes a commitment to explore how we can better incentivise producers to manage resources more efficiently through producer responsibility schemes. The 25 Year Environment Plan builds on this and commits to reform the producer responsibility system (including the packaging waste regulations) to incentivise producers to take greater responsibility for the environmental impacts of their products. The Government is developing a renewed strategy on resources and waste that looks ahead at opportunities outside the EU. This will set out the detail of how we will meet the ambitions for resources and waste that are set out in the Clean Growth Strategy and 25 Year Environment Plan. This will include extended producer responsibility. The strategy will be published later this year. We will consult on our proposals to reform the existing Producer Responsibility Packaging Waste Regulations later this year after the publication of the Resources and Waste Strategy. This will look at all aspects of the regime, including future recycling targets, mechanisms to incentivise better design and encourage the use of recycled material, as well as the funding of collection within the system.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Shanker Singham

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many meetings the hon. Member for Wycombe, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Steve Baker has held with the policy adviser Shanker Singham since July 2017.

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if the publish the (a) date, (b) location and (c) minutes of each of the meetings the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, the hon. Member for Wycombe, has had with Shanker Singham since June 2017.

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, which meetings Shanker Singham has attended in his Department since July 2016.

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what meetings (a) he, (b) Ministers of his Department, (c) advisers in his Department and (d) officials in his Department have held with representatives from Legatum Institute since July 2016; and if he will publish the topics for discussion at those meetings.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether his Department was made aware of the meetings that Steve Baker has had with the policy adviser Shanker Singham since July 2017.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether his Department was made aware of what was discussed at the meetings held between Steve Baker and Shanker Singham that have taken place since July 2017.

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what meetings the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, the hon. Member for Wycombe, has had with Shanker Singham since June 2017; and what the purpose of those meetings was.

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many times the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, the hon. Member for Wycombe, has met with Shanker Singham since June 2017.

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will publish a list of meetings (a) he, (b) Ministers of his Department and (c) officials of his Department have had with Shanker Singham since July 2016.

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether the Permanent-Secretary of his Department has had discussions with the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, the hon. Member for Wycombe, on meetings the latter has had with Shanker Singham since June 2017.

Mr Robin Walker: All meetings on official business are declared in the transparency returns and can be found on the GOV.UK page: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=department-for-exiting-the-european-union&publication_type=transparency-data.

Education

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether the Government plans to include sections on (a) higher education and (b) further Education in the forthcoming Brexit White Paper.

Mr Robin Walker: The White Paper will offer detailed, precise explanations of our position, and set out what will change and what will feel different outside the European Union. It will cover all aspects of our future relationship with the European Union, building on the ambitious vision set out by the Prime Minister in her speeches in Mansion House, Florence and Munich. As the Prime Minister said in her Mansion House speech on 2 March, ‘There are many other areas where the UK and EU economies are closely linked – including education and culture.’ And we will continue to take part in specific policies and programmes which are greatly to the UK and the EU’s joint advantage, such as those that promote science, education and culture.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Procurement

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many contractors currently employed by his Department are paid £1,000 or more per day.

Mr Steve Baker: We do not have any interim contractors currently in role for the department employed on day rate terms of £1,000 or more.

EU Committee of the Regions: UK Delegations

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many vacancies there are on the UK delegation to the Committee of the Regions; and when he plans to fill those vacancies.

Mr Robin Walker: The UK delegation to the Committee of the Regions currently has vacancies for 10 members and for 7 alternate members. Nominations are being reviewed as a matter of urgency and we expect the process to be completed soon, enabling the new members to start contributing to the work of the Committee.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Staff

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many staff were (a) employed by and (b) seconded to his Department at May (i) 2017 and (ii) 2018.

Mr Steve Baker: In April 2017, The Department for Exiting the EU employed 375 people and had 11 individuals seconded into the Department. In April 2018, the Department employed 629 people and had 15 secondees into the Department. The Department is unable to provide the data requested for end May 2018 as we have not yet confirmed our May headcount figure. We have however provided end April 2018 data for your records.

Attorney General

Bail

Ruth George: To ask the Attorney General, how many CPS applications to extend the custody time limit for bail have been made for (a) drug offences, (b) rape charges, (c) firearms offences, (d) other dangerous weapon offences, (e) grievous bodily harm, (f) manslaughter, (g) murder and (h) all other offences in (i) Derbyshire and (ii) each region of the UK in the last five years.

Robert Buckland: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not collect data on the number of applications made by the CPS to the courts to extend custody time limits or on applications made by the CPS to the court to extend pre-charge bail periods. Such information could only be obtained through a manual search of records which would incur disproportionate cost.

Bail

Ruth George: To ask the Attorney General, how many successful CPS applications to extend the custody time limit for bail have been made for (a) drug offences, (b) rape charges, (c) firearms offences, (d) other dangerous weapon offences, (e) grievous bodily harm, (f) manslaughter, (g) murder and (h) all other offences in (i) Derbyshire and (ii) each region on the UK in the last five years.

Robert Buckland: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not collect data on the outcome of applications made by the CPS to the courts to extend custody time limits or the outcome of applications made by the CPS to the court to extend pre-charge bail periods. Such information could only be obtained through a manual search of records which would incur disproportionate cost.

Wales Office

Wales Office: Procurement

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many contractors currently employed by his Department are paid £1,000 or more per day.

Stuart Andrew: None.

Wales Office: Government Chief Scientific Adviser

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many meetings he had with the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser between 1 January and 31 March 2018.

Alun Cairns: None.

Ministry of Justice

Terrorism: Greater London

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what support the Government provides to survivors of the Harrods bombing in 1983.

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimates he has made of the number of survivors of the Harrods bombing in 1983 who (a) are entitled to compensation and (b) have received compensation.

Dr Phillip Lee: The Government is committed to ensuring that victims of historical as well as recent terrorist attacks receive the help and support they need. Under the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime in England and Wales, victims of terrorism have enhanced entitlements to support as victims of the most serious crime. The Ministry of Justice fund a range of organisations for the provision of specialist, emotional and practical support to family members bereaved by crime including terrorist attacks, and fund the Peace Foundation which provides specialist support specifically for victims of terrorism. Since 2015, the majority of funding and support provision for victims of crime in England and Wales has been devolved to Police and Crime Commissioners. This support provision encompasses a range of specialist, practical and emotional support based on the needs of the individual. In 1983, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme was administered by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (CICB). CICB annual reports show that between 1983 and 1986, 190 applications for compensation were received that related to the Harrods bombing, but do not contain details of how many of those applications resulted in an award being made. As the Scheme has a number of eligibility criteria, no estimate can be made of the number of survivors who might be entitled to receive compensation.

Personal Injury: Compensation

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Seventh Report of the Justice Committee, published on 17 May 2018, Small claims limit for personal injury, HC 659, what steps the Government is taking to ensure it has accurate information on the number of fraudulent personal injury motor insurance claims.

Rory Stewart: The Government is considering the contents and recommendations of the Seventh Report of the Justice Committee and will publish its response in due course.

Personal Injury: Compensation

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to monitor the effect of increases in the small claims limit for personal injury claims on (a) the judiciary, (b) the courts and (c) claimants.

Rory Stewart: The Government will monitor the impact of the various elements of the whiplash reform programme following implementation. This includes both the measures being taken forward in the Civil Liability Bill and the supplementary measures to increase the small claims limit for personal injury claims which require secondary legislation.

Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will delay any increase in the small claims limit for personal injury claims until completion of a post-implementation review of part 2 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.

Rory Stewart: The government intends to publish the post-implementation review of Part 2 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 by the end 2018.It intends to implement all elements of the whiplash reform programme as a package by April 2019, including both the measures in the Civil Liability Bill and supplementary measures to increase the small claims limit for personal injury claims which require secondary legislation.

Prisons: Sexual Offences

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that there is a zero tolerance approach to sexual assault and harassment by staff of inmates in prisons.

Rory Stewart: All HMPPS staff are expected to meet high standards of professional and personal conduct. Failure to maintain the required standards will lead to formal action, and may result in dismissal from the Service. If a member of staff is suspected of misconduct in public office or any other criminal offence, HMPPS will work with law enforcement to investigate the incident and pursue a criminal justice outcome. HMPPS are currently reviewing the Standards of Behaviour and Discipline policies for prison officers in order to ensure they remain current. It is also implementing new approaches to tackle corruption and misuse of public office.

Personal Injury: Compensation

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what financial support his Department plans to provide to injured people to fund (a) court fees, (b) medical reports and (c) police reports in the event that the small claims limit for personal injury claims is increased.

Rory Stewart: The small claims track is designed to be uncomplicated and accessible for people to use without the need for a lawyer. Parties making a claim are expected to fund their own court fees. These fees are linked to the value of the claim, are significantly lower than those currently charged in the fast track. Support is available to people who cannot afford court fees under the ‘Help with Fees scheme’ (https://www.gov.uk/get-help-with-court-fees) and depending on the circumstances, fees can be remitted in full or in part.Following the proposed increase in the small claims track limit, a claimant will be able to recover the cost of obtaining a medical report where the defendant either admits liability or is found to be liable.Police reports are usually only required where accident details have not been exchanged or in more serious road traffic accidents where there has been a police investigation. Charges in relation to police reports vary and are governed by individual Police Forces, although many do also operate remission schemes for these charges.

Debt Collection

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to his Department's Answer of 22 May 2018 to Questions 145383 and 145384 on debt collection, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on innocent occupants of residences subject to action by High Court Enforcement Agents where the individual named on the enforcement document has never resided.

Lucy Frazer: The Ministry of Justice has not made any assessment of the effect on occupants of residences subject to action by High Court Enforcement Agents, where the individual named on the enforcement document has never lived at that address. In April 2018, I announced our plan to conduct a call for evidence to inform a review of reforms introduced by the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007. The call for evidence will focus on enforcement agent behaviour and will allow those who have had contact with enforcement agents to provide feedback about their experiences.

Ministry of Justice: Chief Scientific Advisers

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many meetings he had with his Department's Chief Scientific Adviser between 1 January and 31 March 2018.

Dr Phillip Lee: The Chief Scientific Adviser attended meetings with the Secretary of State for Justice on two occasions between 1 January and 31 March 2018.

Compulsorily Detained Psychiatric Patients: Appeals

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of patients detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 have been discharged from detention following a First-Tier Mental Health Tribunal (a) paper and (b) oral hearing in each of the last five years for which data is available.

Lucy Frazer: The First-Tier Mental Health Tribunal does not centrally record the outcomes of tribunal hearings broken down by whether the case was considered on paper or at an oral hearing. Therefore, this information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. However, in 2017/18 cases considered on paper composed 2.5% of all hearings in the tribunal.

Compulsorily Detained Psychiatric Patients: Appeals

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has consulted people detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 on proposals by the Tribunal Procedure Committee to give First-Tier Mental Health Tribunals the power to take decisions without an oral hearing where a patient has been automatically referred to a tribunal.

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of proposals by the Tribunal Procedure Committee to abolish pre-hearing examinations in the First-Tier Mental Health Tribunal on the United Kingdom’s compliance with Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Lucy Frazer: When the Tribunal Procedure Committee published the consultation, it was sent to key mental health organisations including MIND, Rethink, the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Mental Health Foundation and Mental Health UK so they could consider the proposals and reflect the experience of those detained under the Mental Health Act 1983. The Ministry of Justice has not carried out such an assessment of the Committee’s proposal to abolish pre-hearing examinations but awaits the outcome of the consultation. If the Committee decides to make any changes to the rules, the Lord Chancellor will consider the potential impact of those changes before deciding whether to allow the proposed changes to be implemented.

Courts: Closures

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 23 April 2018 to Question 136450 on court closures, if he will publish the postcodes of the courts listed that closed between the 2010-11 and 2016-17 financial years.

Lucy Frazer: I provide below a list of court closures for financial years 2010-11 to 2016-17 with the corresponding building postcode. Courts and tribunals closed during 2010-2011 financial yearWantage Magistrates’ Court, OX12 8EQ Courts and tribunals closed during 2011–2012 financial yearAberdare County Court, CF44 0JEAberdare Magistrates Court, CF44 0NGAbertillery Magistrates Court, NP13 1PBActon Magistrates Court, W3 8PBAlnwick Magistrates Court (FPC), NE66 1UJAmersham Magistrates Court, HP6 5AJAmmanford Magistrates Court, SA18 2NPAshford County Court, TN23 1QQAshford Magistrates Court, TN23 1QSBalham Youth Court, SW17 7BDBarking & Dagenham Magistrates Court, IG11 8EWBarry Magistrates Court, CF63 4SXBatley & Dewsbury Magistrates Court (FPC), WF13 1JPBingley (Keighley) Magistrates Court, BD1 1LABishop Auckland County Court, DL14 6LDBishop Auckland Magistrates Court, DL14 6LDBlandford Forum Magistrates Court, DT11 7HRBlaydon Magistrates Court, NE8 1DTBrentford Magistrates Court, TW8 8ENBridgwater Magistrates Court, TA6 3YLCamborne Magistrates Court, TR14 8SLCardigan Magistrates Court, SA43 1BUCheltenham County Court, GL1 2DEChepstow County Court, NP16 5PBChepstow Magistrates Court, NP16 5PJChorley County Court, PR7 1JECirencester Magistrates Court, GL7 2PLCoalville Magistrates Court, LE67 3DPColeford Magistrates Court, GL16 8BQConsett County Court, DH8 5AUCromer Magistrates Court, NR27 9EBDaventry Magistrates Court, NN11 4BSDewsbury County Court, WF13 2PEDidcot Magistrates Court, OX11 8XDEly Magistrates Court, CB7 4EGEpping Magistrates Court, CM16 4LNEpsom County Court, KT17 1DNEpsom Magistrates Court, KT17 1DNEvesham County Court, WR11 4EEFlint Magistrates Court, CH6 5AYFrome Magistrates Court, BA11 4JGGoole County Court, DN14 5AEGoole Magistrates Court, DN14 5ABGosforth Magistrates Court, NE3 4ESGrantham County Court, NG31 7SBGravesend County Court, DA12 2DUGrays Magistrates Court, RM17 5DAGuisborough (East Langbaurgh) Magistrates Court, TS14 6HXHalesowen Magistrates Court, B63 3DAHarlow County Court, CM20 1UWHarrow Magistrates Court, HA1 2JYHaywards Heath County Court, RH16 1YZHemel Hempstead Magistrates Court, HP1 1HFHitchin County Court, SG5 2JRHoniton Magistrates Court, EX14 1LZHoughton-Le-Spring Magistrates Court, DH4 5BLHuntingdon County Court, PE29 3BDIlford County Court, IG1 1TPIlkeston Magistrates Court, DE7 5HZKeighley County Court, BD21 3SHKidderminster County Court, DY10 1QTKingston-upon-Thames Magistrates Court, KT1 1EUKnowsley Magistrates Court, L36 9XYLewes Magistrates Court, BN7 2PGLiskeard Magistrates Court, PL14 6RFLlandovery Magistrates Court, SA20 0ABLlangefni Magistrates Court, LL77 7TWLlwynypia Magistrates Court, CF40 2ERLowestoft County Court (FPC), NR32 1HJLudlow County Court, SY8 1AQLudlow Magistrates Court, SY8 1AZLyndhurst Magistrates Court, SO43 7AYMarket Drayton Magistrates Court, SY2 5NXMarket Harborough Magistrates Court, LE16 7NHMelton Mowbray County Court, LE13 1NHMelton Mowbray Magistrates Court, LE13 1NHMid-Sussex (Haywards Heath) Magistrates Court, RH16 4BANewark County Court, NG24 1LDNewark Magistrates Court (FPC), NG24 1LDNewbury County Court, RG14 5QTNorthwich County Court (same building as Mags), CW9 5ESNorthwich Magistrates Court (FPC) (same as County), CW9 5ESOswestry County Court, SY11 1PZOswestry Magistrates Court, SY11 1RPPenrith County Court (same building as Mags), CA11 7QLPenrith Magistrates Court (same building a County), CA11 7QLPenzance County Court, TR18 4JHPenzance Magistrates Court, TR182QDPontypool County Court, NP4 6NZPoole County Court, BH15 2NSPwllheli Magistrates Court, LL53 5EDRawtenstall County Court, BB4 7RTRawtenstall Magistrates Court, BB4 6RDRedditch County Court, B97 4ABRetford Magistrates Court, DN22 6BLRochdale Magistrates Court (FPC), OL16 1ARRugby County Court, CV21 2RNRugby Magistrates Court, CV21 2DHRuncorn County Court, WA7 2HARutland Magistrates Court, LE15 6DFSalford County Court, M5 4RRSalford Magistrates Court (FPC), M3 6DJShrewsbury County Court, SY1 1NASittingbourne Magistrates Court, ME10 1DRSkegness County Court, PE25 2TFSouthport (North Sefton) Magistrates Court, PR9 0LPSouthport County Court, PR9 0PUStourbridge County Court, DY8 1QLStratford Upon Avon County Court, CV37 6PASudbury Magistrates Court, CO10 1QNSutton Coldfield Magistrates Court, B74 2NSSutton Magistrates Court, SM6 0JASwaffham Magistrates Court, PE37 7NHTamworth County Court, B79 7ALTamworth Magistrates Court, B79 7ARThetford Magistrates Court, IP24 3AQTotnes Magistrates Court, TQ9 5JYTowcester Magistrates Court, NN12 6DETynedale (Hexham) Magistrates Court (FPC), NE46 3NBWellingborough County Court, NN8 4NFWest Bromwich Magistrates Court, B70 8EDWhitehaven County Court, CA28 7NUWhitehaven Magistrates Court, CA28 7PAWimborne Magistrates Court, BH21 1JWWisbech Magistrates Court, PE13 3DEWitney Magistrates Court, OX28 6JHWoking Magistrates Court, GU22 7YLWoolwich Magistrates Court, SE18 6QYWorksop County Court, S80 1LN Courts and tribunals closed during year 2012-2013 financial year Burton Upon Trent County Court, DE14 1BPHaringey Magistrates Court, N6 4HSPontefract County Court, WF8 1RJPontefract Magistrates Court (FPC), WF8 1BWStoke on Trent Magistrates Court, ST4 3BXSelby Magistrates Court, YO8 4QBTrowbridge County Court, BA14 8DB Courts and tribunals closed during 2013-2014 financial yearAbergavenny Magistrates' Court, NP7 5DLAndover Magistrates Court, SP10 2ABDenbigh Magistrates Court, LL16 3UUNorth Liverpool Community Justice Centre, L5 2QDTower Bridge Magistrates Court, SE1 2JY Courts and tribunals closed during 2014-15 financial yearAlton Magistrates’ Court, GU34 1EABracknell Magistrates’ Court, RG12 1AFBury St Edmunds Tribunal, IP33 2AQKnutsford Crown Court, WA16 0PBNeath Magistrates’ Court, SA11 1RFNewcastle Tribunal - Quayside House, NE1 3DX.Spalding Magistrates’ Court, PE11 1BE Courts and tribunals closed during 2015-2016 financial yearAccrington County Court, BB5 2BHAccrington Magistrates' Court, BB5 2BHAldershot & Farnham County Court, GU11 1SSArcade Chambers - Aldershot Tribunal, GU11 1DZBasildon Acorn House - Basildon Tribunal, SS14 1AHCambridge RPTS Tribunal, CB22 5LDCambridge Tribunal - Eastbrook House, CB2 2DJChesterfield County Court, S41 7TWChesterfield St Marys Court - Chesterfield Tribunal, S41 7TDDoncaster Tribunal - Portland Place, DN1 3DFEpsom Tribunal, KT17 1HFHarrogate County Court, HG1 1ELHereford County Court, HR4 9BANorwich Tribunal - Elliot House, NR1 3TZRichmond upon Thames Magistrates' Court, TW9 2RFShrewsbury Magistrates' Court, SY2 5NXSolihull Magistrates' Court, B91 3RDThe Crescent Centre - Bristol Tribunal, BS1 6EZWaltham Forest Magistrates' Court, E17 4NXWorksop Magistrates' Court, S80 2AJ Courts and tribunals closed during 2016-2017 financial yearAylesbury Magistrates and County Court, HP21 7QZBarnstaple Magistrates' and County Court (Crown part only), EX31 1DXBournemouth Magistrates' Court, BH1 1LABrecon Law Courts, LD3 7HRBridgend Law Courts, CF31 4AJBurton upon Trent Magistrates' Court, DE14 1NZBury St Edmunds Crown & Magistrates' Court, IP33 1HFBuxton Magistrates' & County Court, SK17 6EYCaerphilly Magistrates' Court, CF83 2XACarmarthen Law Courts (The Guildhall), SA31 1PRConsett Magistrates' Court, DH8 6LYCorby Magistrates' Court, NN17 1SQDartford Magistrates' Court, DA1 2JWDolgellau Crown & Magistrates' Court, LL40 1AUDoncaster County Court, DN1 3HTDorchester Crown Court (Weymouth & Dorchester Combined), DT4 8BSDurham Elvet House - Durham Tribunal, DH1 3ATFareham Magistrates' Court, PO16 7TLFeltham Magistrates' Court, TW13 5AFGloucester Magistrates' Court, GL1 1UBGrantham Magistrates' Court, NG31 7SBGreenwich Magistrates' Court, SE10 8PGHalifax County Court, HX1 2JJHalifax Magistrates' Court (Calderdale), HX1 2ANHammersmith Magistrates' and County Court (County Court Only), W6 8DNHartlepool Magistrates' & County Court, TS24 8AGHinckley Magistrates' Court, LE10 1NZKettering Magistrates' Court, NN15 7QPKing's Lynn County Court, PE30 1ESLowestoft Magistrates' Court, NR32 1HJMacclesfield County Court, SK11 7NAMacclesfield Magistrates' Court, SK10 2ABMiddlesbrough Centre North East - Middlesbrough Tribunal, TS1 2RXMorpeth & Berwick County Court, NE61 1LANeath and Port Talbot Civil and Family Court, SA11 3BNOldham Magistrates' Court, OL1 1QEOrmskirk Magistrates' Court, L39 2BJPocock Street Tribunals Hearing Centre, SE1 0BWPontypridd Magistrates' Court, CF37 1SDPrestatyn Magistrates' Court, LL19 7TERedhill Magistrates' & Reigate County Court, RH1 6DHRhyl County Court, LL18 3LARotherham Magistrates' & County Court, S60 1YWRuncorn (Halton) Magistrates' Court, WA7 2HASandwell Magistrates' Court, B69 4JNScunthorpe Magistrates' & County Court, DN15 6LJSkegness Magistrates' Court, PE25 1BHSouthampton Barrack Block, SO15 2SHSt Helens Magistrates' Court, WA10 1SZStroud Magistrates' Court, GL5 1ETSwansea Crown Court (Guildhall), SA1 4PETameside Magistrates' & County Court (County Part Only), OL6 7TPTaunton Blackdown House - Taunton Tribunal, TA1 2PXTottenham Magistrates' Court, N17 6RTTrafford Magistrates' Court & Altrincham County Court, M33 7NRTunbridge Wells County Court, TN1 1DPWakefield & Pontefract Magistrates' Court, WF1 2TWWarrington Combined Court (County Part Only), WA1 1URWarrington Magistrates' Court, WA1 1LQWest Berkshire Magistrates' Court (Newbury), RG17 7TQWeymouth & Dorchester Combined Court Offices (Westwey House), DT4 8TEWrexham Rhyd Broughton (Tribunal), LL13 7YPYate Magistrates' Court (North Avon), BS37 4PYYeovil County Court, BA20 2QD

Suicide

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department plans to review the law relating to suicide pacts.

Lucy Frazer: The Government has no plans to review the law relating to suicide pacts as set out in section 4 of the Homicide Act 1957.

Family Justice Board

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the (a) membership is of and (b) chairing arrangements are for the Family Justice Board.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on what dates the Family Justice Board has met since its inception; and if he will publish the minutes of those meetings.

Lucy Frazer: The Board is jointly chaired by myself and my counterpart at the Department for Education, the honourable member for Stratford-on-Avon. Its members are senior stakeholders from across the family justice system.The current membership and more information about its role can be found at the link below. https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/family-justice-board#membershipThe table below contains the dates of the Family Justice Board meetings held from inception when it was independently chaired by Sir David Norgrove.FJB129/03/12FJB1208/04/14FJB209/05/12FJB1312/06/14FJB308/08/12FJB1402/10/14FJB414/11/12FJB1519/12/14FJB521/01/13FJB1630/03/15FJB611/03/13FJB1707/07/15FJB730/04/13FJB1829/09/15FJB825/06/13FJB1915/12/15FJB914/10/13FJB2023/03/16FJB1016/12/13FJB2127/06/16FJB1113/02/14   The table below contains the dates of the Family Justice Board since the Board has been chaired jointly by Ministers.FJB107/11/16FJB208/03/17FJB306/06/18We will arrange to publish the minutes in due course at the weblink above.

Personal Independence Payment: Appeals

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the average waiting time for personal independence payments appeals at tribunal in (a) Caernarfon County Court and Family Court, (b) Prestatyn Justice Centre, (c) Chester Magistrates' Court, (d) Chester Civil and Family Justice Centre and (e) Welshpool County Court and Family Court.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of outstanding Social Security and Child Support Tribunals in (a) Caernarfon County Court and Family Court, (b) Prestatyn Justice Centre, (c) Chester Magistrates' Court, (d) Chester Civil and Family Justice Centre and (e) Welshpool County Court and Family Court.

Lucy Frazer: The information requested is set out in the tables below. HMCTS VENUES. Average time (weeks) receipts HMCTS to Outcome1 Personal Independence Payment Appeals2April - June (Quarter 1) 2017_2018 3July- September (Quarter 2) 2017_2018 3October to December (Quarter 3) 2017_2018 3April to December (Quarter 1-3 ) 2017_2018 3,4Caernarfon21374037Chester519232722Prestatyn33374839Welshpool21253126 HMCTS VENUESOutstanding load of all SSCS appeals as at 31st December 2017 3,4Caernarfon258Chester944Chester Magistrates' Court23Prestatyn658Welshpool46 1 Includes cases cleared with and without a tribunal hearing.2 Personal Independence Payment (New Claim Appeals) which replaces Disability Living Allowance was introduced on 8 April 2013, also includes Personal Independence Clams (Reassessments).3 Provisional data4 The latest period for which data are available5 Chester venue is Chester Civil Justice Centre. For the period April-December (Quarter 1-3) 2017_2018 there were no PIP clearances for appeals listed for Chester Magistrates Court.Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system and are the best data that is available.The data may differ slightly to that of the published stats as theses data were run on a different date. Clearance times, and caseload, are dependent on several factors, such as hearing capacity at the venue closest to the appellant, or the local availability of Tribunal panel members. Other factors might include the availability of the appellant or their representative, or the provision of further evidence. Additionally, a decision on the appeal may be reached after a hearing has been adjourned (which may be directed by the judge for a variety of reasons, such as to seek further evidence), or after a hearing has been postponed (again, for a variety of reasons, often at the request of the appellant). An appeal may also have been referred back to the First-tier Tribunal by the Upper Tribunal for disposal.  HMCTS has been working with the Tribunal’s judiciary both to appoint additional judges and panel members and take forward initiatives with potential to increase the capacity and performance of the Tribunal. These include reviewing current listing practices to increase the number of cases being listed on a Tribunal session, and introducing case management “triage” sessions, with the aim of reducing the time taken for appeals to reach final determination. All these measures will increase the capacity of the Tribunal with the aim of reducing waiting times for appellants.

Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office: Mobile Phones

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what apps his Department has approved for use on mobile phones issued by his Department.

Chloe Smith: For reasons of national security national security concerns it would be inappropriate to publicly supply a list of applications approved for use on mobile phones issued by the Department as to do so risks facilitating attacks against official systems by hostile actors. I can confirm that the Cabinet Office acts in full compliance with National Cyber Security Centre guidance on the use of third party applications.

Brexit: Scotland

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on Clause 11 of the EU (Withdrawal) Bill.

Chloe Smith: The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office has held regular discussions with the Scottish Government on clause 11 of the EU (Withdrawal) Bill (clause 15 in the current print of the Bill). This matter was discussed with the Scottish Government, and the Welsh Government, at the Joint Ministerial Committee on European Negotiations on 22 February, 8 March and 2 May 2018, at the Joint Ministerial Committee (Plenary) on 14 March and at a separate trilateral meeting on 16 April 2018. The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has also met with or spoken to Michael Russell, the Minister for UK Negotiations on Scotland's Place in Europe in the Scottish Government, about clause 11 on a number of occasions as well as exchanging letters on the matter. In addition, further intensive discussions have taken place at official level between the UK and Scottish Governments.

National Security Council

Nia Griffith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which Ministers are members of the National Security Council ministerial sub-committee on matters relating to cyber programmes and policy development.

Mr David Lidington: A full list of members of the National Security Council ministerial sub-committee is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-cabinet-committees-system-and-list-of-cabinet-committees .

Welsh Language Act 1993

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many investigations under s17 of the Welsh Language Act 1993 his Department had open as of 15 May 2018.

Mr David Lidington: No investigations are currently open. We have been working with the Welsh Language Commissioner to develop a WLS for the Cabinet Office, including our digital communications.

Electoral Register: Finance

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much central Government funding has been allocated for the purpose of increasing individual electoral registration in each year for which data is available.

Chloe Smith: The Government has made a substantial financial commitment to maximising voter registration. This has supported almost 33 million people making an application to register to vote since Individual Electoral Registration was introduced in 2014, ensuring the electoral register is more accurate than ever before. Since the 2013/2014 financial year, the UK Government has made over £27m available to maximise the number of people on the electoral register. This includes £14 million across 2013/14 and 2014/15 to support the costs of activities at a local and national level. Further to this, £2.5m was allocated to target different audiences in the run-up to the 2015 General Election; along with £3m of additional funding for all EROs in Great Britain to target their non-IER registered carry forward electors in 2015. More recently, up to £7.5m was made available across 2015/16 and 2016/17 for a range of voter registration activities – including funding for local authorities and civil society organisations – in the run up to the EU Referendum. This figure does not include funding made available to support wider democratic engagement programmes, like those associated with the Suffrage Centenary. As set out in the Government’s Democratic Engagement Plan, we are continuing to invest in a range of activities and improvements to broaden participation, including the first ever National Democracy Week which will take place this summer (2-8 July).

Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Public Appointments

Kate Osamor: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that appointments to the Grenfell Tower inquiry panel will represent survivors and bereaved families.

Mr David Lidington: I refer the Honourable Member to PQ143839 answered on 22 May 2018.

British Nationality

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) British subjects and (b) British protected persons are currently resident in the UK.

Chloe Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA response 
(PDF Document, 159.8 KB)

Abdul Hakim Belhaj and Fatima Boudchar

Mr Kenneth Clarke: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government plans to ask the Intelligence and Security Committee to inquire into the circumstances of the rendition of Mr Belhaj and Ms Bouchar, in line with the statement given to the House of Commons on 19 December 2013 and following the closure of all legal proceedings on that matter.

Mr David Lidington: The Intelligence and Security Committee sets its own work programme.

Cabinet Office: Amazon

James Gray: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what percentage of the data held by his Department is hosted by (a) Amazon Web Services London Region and (b) Amazon Web Services in other data centres.

Chloe Smith: Information requested is not collated and can only be provided at a disproportionate cost.